The Wrong One
by Link Slate
Summary: An insight into Amarant's past and how he comes to understand what it means to be truly strong. Will be Action with some comedic parts thrown in, OC and set before the events of FFIX. In production, just an idea that will be a short series. Rated "M" for language and violence.
1. Not the sharpest in the shed

I snickered as another grunt walked into and outta the boss' room. The long black-haired kid, no older than me, stood cautiously to the side of the boss' desk as he folded his arms. His faded black full-length coat with three quarter sleeves swayed just above the ankle of his boots, and his tattered cargo pants held the promise of a desperate man, willing to do just about anything for the money. Black, fingerless gloves, messy hair, bloodied white singlet… Honestly, he was laughable the first time I laid eyes on him - had the build of a brick shithouse but the ferocity of a fucking kitten. Matter of fact, he couldn't have been less intimidating if he actually _was_ one.

"Forget it, boss. I got enough problems t' deal wit'," one of the upstarts said, walking past him with a cocky upturn of his nose. Rhaz, his name was – real hardass. Nothing he could use, I s'pose. Not much use for a mercenary that won't kill, and he wasn't the first merc to reject him. I couldn't blame them, though – the kid showed no signs of being useful. Hadn't killed anyone, no credits to his name…

The boss sighed, slapping a hand to his face and sliding it over his short, dark hair. Even I could tell that his patience was wearing thin and I was only there to collect my latest cheque – some poor bastard, never even saw it coming. Killed him easily, unarmed and practically asking to die.

"Yeah, if I looked like that, I'd have problems too."

The smarmy remark would have cost the newbie his life if he hadn't shocked the hell out of all of us by catching the knife thrown to his face. Rhaz almost shit himself when the tender-foot turned towards him, knife in his hand and a threatening gleam in his eyes. That was the first moment I saw the killer inside of him – and I couldn't wait to see him out in action.

"You shouldn't play with knives, asshole," he said, walking towards Rhaz and flicking the knife into a hold that I vaguely recognised, "you could hurt someone."

He was a thief. That much I could tell just from the way he held his weapon. Couple years back, some pint-sized brat with a tail stole somethin' from the auction house in the 'upper class' area of Treno. I was a guard at the time and the punk walked straight past me, smiling… so naturally, I pursued. When I finally caught up with him, he whizzed 'round, holdin' these fancy daggers with the blades facing down – the exact way a thief holds 'em, just the way this new kid was holdin' this one.

"Ya reckon you intimidate me, kid?" Rhaz boasted, attempting to stop himself from shaking as the newbie approached, knife held firm and ready to strike.

"Hey…"

The clicking hammer of a gun even had my gaze turned to the boss as he held his signature pistol towards the new guy, halting his advance.

"… if you wanna start shit, you can get the fuck out," he began, turning to Rhaz with a raised brow. "_I've_ got enough problems to deal with, 'n' I don't need you to be one of 'em."

Rhaz darted from the boss to the newbie, panicking as he waited to see if the boss would actually take the shot. The newbie turned to the boss, eyeing the piece and throwing the knife towards the door of the room, slamming half of the blade through the thick timber barely a foot from my position. Now, I'm a throwing-weapons kinda guy – even _I_ had to admit, that was pretty damn impressive.

"Then keep your money _and_ your problems," he stated angrily, shouldering past Rhaz who suddenly remembered how to breath, "I'll find some other way."

He bee-lined for the door with that 'killer' look still in his eyes. After I presumed him to be a thief, everything about him started to agree with me – the way he held the blades, the way he walked, his throwing abilities, the lightning reflexes… those were useful traits; _I_ could use him. I smacked a hand across the door, holding it shut as the newbie jumped back defensively. I've heard about edgy, but this guy took the cake.

"You wanna start somethin', Red?"

I lifted my gaze to his, meeting his killer intent with my own. A crooked smile formed across my face – this was actually a little entertaining, almost like a fresh start.

"Maybe I do, so let's start with your name, greenback."

He recovered, seeming to relax just a little as he placed a hand on the stilled knife, wrenching it outta the door with a loud crack as Rhaz jumped. I grunted a laugh – it was priceless to see that prick put back in his place.

"Jayce," he said sternly, flicking the knife into one of the pockets on his pants.

"Amarant," I replied, kicking at the floored bag beside me as a loud clattering was heard. "Ya gotta weapon to go with that name?"

Jayce locked eyes with me, kicking his own bag, also on the floor beside the door, also making a loud clatter.

"Claws, throwing weapons – used 'em all my life."

Hah, priceless. Man after my own heart.

"Right. You're with me from now on. Do I gotta teach ya how to fight?"

Jayce smirked confidently.

"Not if you can keep up."

Hah, cocky bastard. I liked him immediately after that.

I took my hand off the door, cracking my knuckles as I lifted my bag. Walking over to the boss, I unclipped the straps and shoved the bag on the desk in front of him.

"Belt, boots and watch, just like you asked. He won't be stealin' from us again."

The boss quickly placed his gun away and took out a cigar, clipping it in half as he laughed. He lifted the loose flap, wincing as he dropped it quickly.

"Jesus, you coulda cleaned 'em off before you dumped 'em here…" he began, pulling out a box of matches and swiping one of the buggers across his desk.

"I prefer it the way it is. Sentimental value, ya know," I stated, watching as he puffed contentedly behind his chair. Cigars, booze, all the money he could ask for… no wonder the fat lard could barely move.

"Hah, yes I do-"

The boss made to pull the bag over to his side before I slapped a hand down, stopping the motion and closing the flap. He darted his eyes to me as I shook my head.

"Money first, boss – you know how I work."

The boss rolled his eyes, grunting loudly before releasing the bag and digging into his drawers. Half an eternity later, he pulled out a pretty fat envelope, almost bursting out the sides. '_Fantastic,'_ I thought, _'a bonus_._ Finally, someone appreciates my hard work…'_

"Here, then. Your payment and an advance – if you're taking the kid on, there's a job you can start right now."

'… _go figure.'_

I grunted, reaching into my bag for the blood-stained items the boss had asked for.

"There's your crap. What's the job?" I asked, flicking the contents towards him and returning my bag over my shoulder as Rhaz stormed out of the room with a grunt and loud slamming of the door. The boss raised his brows and shook his head as I crossed my arms, trying my best to hide a laugh.

"Got a couple of royal jewels we can steal. Transport happens between eleven and one tonight, interception is anytime between. That Brahne bitch is getting a bit too greedy, if y'ask me, all these jewels and armour and stuff…" The boss turned to Jayce. "The kid can handle that one."

I shot a look back at Jayce, watching him calmly take my leaning position beside the door.

"And whaddaya want me to do?" I asked, returning to the boss.

"Two things, actually-"

"That's a pay-rise."

The boss glared at me. Psh, fat bastard. He shoulda known by then that I wasn't gonna do anything for free.

"Tch, fine," the boss said in a huff, puffing out a smoke ring before continuing. "First things first, make sure he doesn't _fuck up_."

A notable harrumph sounded in the background.

"Second, you're gonna take out someone called Theodore Faivers."

I raised my eyes at the name.

"Sounds rich. What'd he do?"

"That's not important. What _is_ important is that you're gonna kill him. Twenty thousand gil for you and five g's for the kid, assuming he can pull it off."

"Any upfront?"

"Ten for you. You can split it if you're feeling nice, Red."

I took my bag and turned to Jayce, slipping the bloated envelope into my pocket and cracking my neck.

"When's Teddy's bed time?"

The boss turned around in his chair as he stood up, making his way towards his liquor cabinet.

"Before sunrise."

"Looks like he'll be goin' to bed early tonight."

Cracking open an expensive bottle of booze and grabbing two glasses from the cabinet, the boss chuckled hoarsely as he proceeded to fill the tumblers.

"That's what I like to hear."

Turning slowly towards me, the boss extended one of the whiskey glasses in my direction.

"Soothe the nerves, kid?" he asked, walking forwards as the entirety of the grotesque bastard wobbled. Christ, he was ugly… but I wasn't about to turn down eighteen year old whiskey. I took the glass from his hand, downed the bittersweet liquid before I could taste it and thumped the glass down on his desk.

"Cheers. Have the cheques ready tomorrow," I said, locking eyes with Jayce and nodding towards the door. "We'll be around to pick 'em up at noon."

The boss raised his glass to me, taking a sip of his drink as I turned and headed for the door. Jayce remained silent until we found ourselves emerging from the mouldy ladders in the slums of Treno. A couple of kids dashed past us loudly, screamin' about something before a straying one of 'em collided with my side, tumbling back onto the pier. He looked up to me with teary eyes, probably expecting some kind of apology. Pfft, little punk didn't deserve one, I thought, but that clearly wasn't what was on the mind of my soon-to-be partner.

"You alright, kid?"

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have to pick my fucking jaw off the ground when Jayce turned to the kid and offered him a hand, lifting him up as the kid shook. Jayce wasn't small – he was a stocky fellow, just a bit bulkier than me, if only a little shorter. Watching this huge bastard pick up this tiny kid was almost funny, and I would have laughed if I wasn't so fuckin' embarrassed.

I stepped past Jayce, whacking the kids hand outta his and pointing towards him as he practically pissed his pants.

"You watch where you're going from now on, punk," I spat, glaring at him as he recoiled and bolted in the opposite direction. "You better hope I don't see your face again!"

"Hey!" yelled Jayce, turning to face me. "What the fuck was all that about?"

I slapped a hand to my face - I couldn't_ honestly_ have picked his badly…

"Look, Jayce," I began, lifting my eyes to his as he met my gaze with anger, "you're not a fucking nanny, you're a mercenary now, so it's time to start acting like it. You're gonna become a killer, because if you don't, then you die. Your first job is gonna be pinching whatever jewels are being transported around Alexandria tonight. If you've got emotions, that means you're prone to do something stupid, like _fuck up_. My advice? Kill 'em. Kill all your emotions. That's what I've done, and it's gotten me this far-"

"And alone."

I roused my most virulent glare at that moment. He'd barely been here an hour and he was _already_ tryin' to tell me how to live my life? He had so much to learn… ignorant fool.

"Yeah, it's gotten me alone, and I like that. So, if you want to survive in this business, kill your emotions. Become an asshole. Otherwise, the people you're sent to kill, steal from or kidnap are gonna eat you up and spit you out. Now…"

I straightened up and turned, motioning to a two story house just up the next ladder and past a nearby item shop.

"… I need a drink, and I don't like working with people I don't know. So c'mon. First few rounds are on me."

Jayce scoffed as he followed me.

"First _few_ rounds? Should we really be drinking before a job? That's… bad, isn't it?"

I closed my eyes irately and pinched two fingers to the bridge of my nose.

… It was gonna be a _long_ night.

* * *

Going to be just a small series, maybe five or six chapters. Leave a review and let me know what you think!

Good writing to all :)

**_LS._**


	2. Heart of a lion, soul of a saint

"So how many years ya been stealin'?"

Jayce darted to me as we tore towards Alexandria. Having managed to procure a couple of chocobo's, we'd relieved the need to stow away on some random airship. Saved us a fair deal of hassle, but left us with filthy birds that reeked to high heaven. Either way, it was quick. Silver lining, ya know…

"Since I left home, I s'pose," he responded with a shrug. The tavern in Treno had gotten next to nothing out of him. Guess he wasn't exactly happy talking in a place filled with drunks. Can't understand for the life of me why – I could have blurted out the entire plot of the heist _and_ the assassination to any one of those gits and it would have been forgotten in seconds, drowned out by the next drink. Dank, mirthless place, it was… s'why I liked it so much, but it seemed to do nothing to calm the nerves of the rookie.

"Couldn't be a bit more vague, could ya?" I replied, growing just slightly tired of him dancing around simple questions. He laughed, turning from me to keep his eyes forward.

"Since I was nine. S'when my mother died and my father did himself in."

… guy seemed about as apathetic about his past as I was.

"Good times, I hear…" I shot, tempting the waters as he scoffed.

"Pfft, he was an idiot," Jayce began, gaze unfaltering on the not-too-distant castle of Alexandria. Wouldn't be long now, but for conversation's sake…

"Guess he wasn't the teachin' sort, then?" I asked, trying to get a bit more out of him.

"No, he was more of the 'I'm-gonna-give-up-when-my-wife-dies-and-leave-my-two-fucking-kids-to-fend-for-themselves' sort, if you absolutely have to know," he finished, shooting a look towards me. "Happy now?"

I smiled – it's always good to know that someone's had a better past than your own.

"Yeah, actually," I responded, nodding towards the rising landscape, "we're almost there."

Jayce flicked his eyes towards the fast-approaching castle. Noting the forest just to the east of the town, we turned our birds towards the thick as he grunted.

"Tch, why the hell do you wanna know about me, anyway?" he asked, turning from the forest to me with a questioning glance. I shrugged and answered honestly.

"It's called 'boredom'."

* * *

After we'd ditched the birds at the forest, we walked straight through the Alexandrian gates. We knew almost every one of those knights and soldiers would have been preoccupied with transporting the jewels, so we had no hassles at all. It was dead quiet, not a damn peep to be heard. We made our way through the town, getting as far as the moat surrounding the castle without any trouble whatsoever… then _he _came along.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Jayce panicked, immediately reaching into his bag with a loud clutter as the knight walked towards us. I gritted my teeth and turned to him.

"_Would you fucking relax? You'll give us away!_"

"What was that? Speak up! Your names, now!"

This guy's armour was noisy as hell, clanking loudly with every step he took. He seemed a hell of a lot more stocked up than the other knights floating around… and that could mean trouble, either a captain or a general, and god help us if that Beatrix woman was around. Thankfully it was dark, so he wouldn't recognise or be able to see our faces. I turned to the guy and was just about to spill some bullshit story before, shock of all shock, Jayce beat me to it.

"Hey, sorry, we're tourists!" he stated, moving past me and brandishing a map from his bag. "My name's Seth and my friend here is John. We're currently trying to find hotspots all around the Mist continent and were looking for a guide. Do you think that maybe you could tell us a little about this castle?"

… Thief _and_ an actor. If this was actually stupid enough to work, I'd have figured I struck gold. The knight immediately removed his edge. He was only too proud to talk about Alexandria… which unfortunately meant we had to listen.

"Well you've certainly come to the right place and, might I add, how fortunate that my watch occurs at this time! I can tell you everything you need to know about our esteemed and majestic town."

Fan-fuckin'-tastic. Here goes two hours…

"… and located just before you, as you _must_ have already guessed, is Alexandria Castle, home of Queen Brahne and Princess Garnet Til Alexandros…"

'_Blah, blah, blah… Jesus, get him on a roll, huh?' _I thought, feigning interest as I kept a stern eye on the castle, rounding to the knight's side just shy of Jayce's position. He continued to babble on about… tch, God knows what, until Jayce was fortunate enough to spot a group of knights holding large boxes of what couldn't have been anything other than the target of the heist.

"Oh, excuse me! I've heard that there's gonna be a… ahhh… a jewel display of some sort? We're not too late are we?" Jayce asked. He could really get into character... but the knight turned towards the convoy of soldiers transporting the boxes and nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes. The display of her Majesty's Crown Jewels was earlier on today, but the entourage is soon to take rest in Lindblum, where the display shall once again take refuge for all to see!"

"Lindblum?" I asked, realising that I'd been silent the entire time. Thankfully, it had gone unnoticed and the knight nodded happily.

"Yes indeed! Her majesty's crown jewels shall be transported tonight, over to the city of Lindblum along with the Regent's armour to be displayed proudly inside the Lindblum Palace. First class nobility, not a blemish to be found on either!" he stated proudly. Poor bastard, who was he to know that he practically gave it away to us? As Jayce continued to butter him up, I made three points of attack and four points of retreat. We'd have the lot before they could make it to the harbour - this would be a cinch.

"… so thank you very much, sir… erm… sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

The knight saluted proudly.

"Captain Adelbert Steiner, my good man! Should you require further information, be sure to come to the castle on the morrow and ask for me. A personal tour of the town is only one of the benefits I can offer a fellow lover of Alexandria!"

'_Great, now how about you piss off?'_

"Thank you, Captain Steiner! We'll be sure to see you on the… er, tomorrow," Jayce finished with a smile as he turned to me. "C'mon, let's get back to the inn."

"All the best, lads!"

* * *

"Him first, then the guy on the right. After that, the rest will drop like flies."

"I just knock 'em out, right?"

I once again found myself whacking a palm to my face.

"You're kiddin' me, right? Please tell me that was a joke."

Jayce shrugged as he leaned against the trunk of the tree.

"I'm not usually one to joke."

"Look," I said, turning to him and attempting to understand where he came from. "I dunno what's made you such a big girl's blouse about killin' people, but consider this training if you're gonna stay. Everyone needs a first time."

… yeah, I had no idea why he wouldn't kill. Still, he managed to completely dismiss what I said with a shrug. Pfft.

"Well, maybe I don't. Keep it quiet, alright?"

Before I could protest, the 'killer' bolted down the tree and vanished from sight. I'd already taken care of Faivers – fat, obnoxious first-class drunk; needed to bring back his pocket watch, eye-glass and his 'rings'… woulda taken me all night to get 'em off, so I just took his hand and wrapped it in whatever was left of his tattered shirt. Could have been a bit cleaner with the kill – ribbons would have held more meat - but at least no one saw. Gotta count your blessings, right?

I turned towards the patrol that carried the jewels. Christ, it was almost too dark to see them; probably wouldn't have been able to see Jayce if he-

"Ooof!"

"What the-Urrgh!"

"Hey, what's- Aaaugh!"

"We're under a-Ooww!"

"Argh!"

"AH, God…damnit…"

'… _What the fuck just happened?'_

I darted around the falling guards, searching for what might have been left of Jayce and jumping from the tree.

"Ready to go?"

"_JESUS FUCKING CHR-!"_

I slammed my hand into my bag, threading my fingers through my claws' grip as I turned to find Jayce with two chests under his arms. I locked eyes with him for a moment as he cleared his throat.

"Are – you – ready – to – go?"

I darted over to the guards – each and every one of them was on the floor. I returned to Jayce, eyeing the chests under his arms. I pointed to the guards as Jayce shrugged.

"Out cold. Won't be for long, so hurry up – I gotta take a leak."

… Well colour me thoroughly fucking impressed.

* * *

The boss was more than pleased with his spoils. Every part of him practically jiggled when we walked in with the jewels and what was left of Faivers. Even got a bonus, heh – silver lining.

"You boys rest up. Gonna be another job for the both of ya in the morning."

The boss sent us off with a hearty wave as he welcomed Jayce to the team. Rhaz was, of course, anything _but_ happy about it, but that was his problem. Eh, he was old anyway – he just didn't like to see young blood claiming his position. A week and two more jobs passed. I scored another thirty grand and Jayce scraped through with fifteen. Got himself a new coat and pants, so at least he didn't look like a hobo anymore. We'd cashed our latest cheques in the early afternoon and had a little time to kill, so Jayce and I found our way onto the sparring fields… and I quickly found myself flattened along my front.

"Still think you can keep up?"

Now, _that _was just fuckin' embarrassing. I hadn't lost in a spar since… fuck, _ever_. I had to hand it to him – he wouldn't kill anyone, but he was more than capable of it. I still had yet to understand why he wouldn't, though… which lead to an interesting conversation over drinks after I proceeded to have my ass handed to me another two times.

"That's a hell of a grip you got," I said, taking a swig of my beer as Jayce laughed. "The hell'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Survival of the fittest," he replied with a quick crack of his neck. "I taught myself – hung around training camps, fighters and whatnot. Picked up what I could when I could… developed my own style. Eh, it's got me this far, I s'pose."

Self taught… no wonder I couldn't beat him. Conversation ran dry for a little, but it wasn't long 'til I brought the conversation back to why he couldn't bring himself to kill.

"Ok, look," I began, downing the remainder of my pint and tapping two fingers loudly on the bar. "I'm a mercenary, I get hired to take people out, so forgive me if it's a bit weird. Everyone has the potential to kill, even you, so why are you so against it? You must have wanted to? At least once, or _one person_, ya know?"

Jayce paused for a moment, eyeing his drink like he was gonna stab it or something.

"Yeah, I did. Just once, I _wanted_ to kill someone."

"And?"

Jayce snorted, laughing as he, too, downed the rest of his pint and tapped against the bar. The bartender brought over two fresh pints which I was only too happy to start on.

"The bastard beat me to it."

I turned to him, drink still in hand and lifted to my mouth. After another hefty swig, I cleared my throat and clapped my mug on the bench.

"Your father, eh?"

Jayce nodded.

"I was nine. Fuck, I didn't know anything back then, but just the way he was such a little bitch about my mother dying made me wanna axe him somethin' fierce. He… just… he _gave up_ on me and my sister…"

"Sister?"

Jayce's pint hit the bar as he turned to me with a strange sort of grin – not happy, but not… unhappy? Kinda two-sided…

"Yeah… Sarah. Only family I've got left. We've been living outta tents for the past few years, but with this," he held up the envelope filled with the payment for the last mission, "I can _finally_ keep my promise."

"… and that is?"

"Start looking out for us like that prick wouldn't… and the first thing I'm gonna do is rent us a place in Lindblum."

I actually saw a moment of composure in the guy right then and there. Not just a fast-talking smart ass, but somethin' genuine… I didn't know it then, but that was _his_ reason for being strong - Sarah.

"… If I keep performing alright, I'll get… y'know, paid more, right?"

I turned at his question, nodding with a half-hearted frown before returning to my drink.

"Maybe," I said, taking a swig as Jayce seemed to light up. "Course, you'd get twice the money if you started takin' people out-"

"I'll stick with stealing," he quickly cut in. Hah, he _really _didn't like the subject. "Stick to what you're good at, eh?"

"Heh, more or less. You'll keep getting better the more you do it, just like I'll keep getting stronger the more I… y'know."

Jayce turned to me with raised brows, ducking a quick look behind him as the drunks at the tables behind us blabbered on noisily.

"You get stronger by killing people, huh?" he asked, returning to me before amusing himself with the bottles behind the bar.

"It's necessary," I mused, staring at my drink. "You never know who your next hit will be and if they know how to fight, well… at least you're prepared."

"… So, strength is a precaution to you?"

"It's a way of life to me. Strength is all I've ever known, so I stick to what _I'm_ good at. I mean, the first memory I ever had was of this guy I had to fight. Pretty bad, right? Can't even remember my parents, but I remember the first nose I broke - I was four at the time."

"That's a long time to be looking for strength."

With that remark, I downed the rest of my pint, tapping my fingers on the bar again – just what was this guy playing at?

"I don't _have_ to look for strength-"

"But you're _still_ trying to find it, which is what I don't get."

"Alright then," I snapped slightly as the bartender filled my pint, "what's your opinion on it?"

"The blind pursuit of power is a meaningless vice."

And there it was – _his_ belief. Little did I know I'd come to use that very phrase one day, but at the time I was just a _little_ too pig-headed.

"Strength is _meaningless?_ You wanna elaborate at all?"

Jayce smirked and laughed, taking another swig of his pint.

"You want strength for the sake of being strong. That's a long road to travel, Red, and it doesn't end. You know, 'he who only wants is left with only nothing'? What you need is a solid purpose; a _reason_ to be strong – be it yourself, someone else… anything except just for wanting to be. Me? I've got Sarah, who I _choose_ to be strong for, so I'll never fall short or lose at anything. I promised that I'd give us the life that our father didn't, and I don't need to kill anyone to prove otherwise…"

Well… that made sense… sort of.

"… and I couldn't stand it if she found out that I'd followed in that fuckwit's footsteps."

… That made a bit more sense. With a heavy swig of my freshly filled pint, I tentatively approached the obviously touchy subject as a little more of 'Jayce' opened up to me.

"So your old man was a mercenary?"

Jayce shot a glance toward me. I knew I'd struck a nerve and, for the first time, I was fairly hesitant to probe any further.

"He was a cunt. Didn't hide it at all - would come home drunk, covered in blood… scarred Sarah for life. She couldn't even watch when I had to kill off monsters that attacked us, but… he made great money. So… I promised Sarah that I'd get us by, but I'd _never_ do it the way _he_ did it."

'… _the way I do it.'_

I stared at my drink as the silence rang through the bar. I don't like to admit it, but Jayce had me rethinking almost my entire life as he spoke. It was true – I had _always_ been attempting to get stronger. Nothing capped it, I just wanted more… but it was all I'd ever known and it wasn't about to change. I honestly thought I'd be lost in thought all night until, surprise, surprise, Jaycebroke the silence.

"What about you?"

Being unexpectedly snapped out of my thoughts, I blankly turned to him.

"Hmmm?"

"Whaddaya think makes you strong?"

All he got was another blank stare on my part. To tell the truth, I had no fuckin' idea. Bastard… he'd started to make me doubt my own way of life. I turned to my half-empty pint as Jayce looked on with dynamic interest.

"… I don't know. I've always just… had to be, I suppose. I've lived by the saying 'only the strong survive' for as long as I can remember so… I just wanted to survive. I wanted to be _strong_."

He released a hefty grunt as he took another sip of his pint. I'd just admitted that he was right – I wanted to be strong just to be strong.

"And you figured you'd try 'n' make money out of it?"

I turned to him and shrugged.

"… Beggars can't be choosers."

I honestly expected a reprimand from him but, to my surprise, he started laughing. I raised a brow as I took another sip of my pint.

"I hear that… and you know, now I can make good on the promise I made to Sarah, so… here's to you, Amarant."

I turned to him as he held up his drink, darting to his eyes.

"… to me?"

"Got me my first payed job in eight months. Finally gonna be able to get Sarah into some kind of apartment, so…" he motioned to his still raised pint, "… cheers."

A short pause was all I allowed before I chuckled, clinking my pint with his.

"Here's to you 'n' Sarah, then."

I'm not even _nearly_ arrogant enough to toast to myself. Who'd he think I was, Rhaz?

* * *

_**LS.**_


	3. Out with the old

Winning in a sparring session had become a thing of the past for me. For the _third_ time that day, I'd found myself pinned on my front, unable to move and in a fucking _lot_ of pain.

"Ergh, alright, _alright! _I give, I give…"

Jayce released his hold with a laugh, extending a hand towards me as I drew my hand from my back – Christ Almighty, did he have a death-grip or what? I was more than happy to take the offer as he lifted me to my feet, breathing just as heavy as I was.

"So that's three outta three for today. Wanna go round four?"

I rolled my eyes and darted to him. Hmph, smart-ass.

"Pass."

We both gave a laugh as we collected our things, leaving the sparring grounds and heading back to Treno to cash our latest cheques. All this time, and I _still_ couldn't beat the rookie – a whole year had passed since that first job and, I didn't wanna admit it, but he was rubbing off on me. Hah, and he was right from the start – I could barely keep up with him. He had told me his reason for fighting on – Sarah – and I shoulda realised that he wasn't joking when he said he wouldn't lose. He finally got his apartment in Lindblum, actually _bought_ one just around the business district. Even invited me over once - God knows why, but I met the illustrious Sarah. She was gorgeous: long brown hair and eyes, body of a queen and, at the tender age of nineteen, two years younger than us. Bright, bubbly, more intelligent than I thought a woman could be… Heh, wouldn't try anything on her – I'd already been threatened with castration from Jayce. She seemed to take a shine to me, though, probably because she was unaware of what I did. If she had known that I was in the same trade as her old man… well, according to Jayce, she wouldn't have come within a mile of me. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes…

We slid down the ladders past the tavern as we made our way to the boss' place. While I'd taken out half the lowlifes on the Mist Continent, Jayce had robbed the other half blind. After his initiation into the team, the jobs became plentiful and easy as Jayce and I became a steadily more devastating combination. We barely had to talk during missions; we knew what we were supposed to do. He'd cover the entrance of the job, I'd make the escape and we'd walk out laughing. Of course, with the titles came huge bounties on our heads - bigger than anyone else's at the time and, as expected, that didn't always sit well with the others. We got better paying jobs, the boss contacted us first, etcetera, etcetera… I took out the lead hit-man position while Jayce was promoted to the leader of the thieving missions. Our next hit was the most prestigious mission available – bringin' in the pendant of the Alexandrian princess. Naturally, with the longer-standing members, they were fairly pissed that two young-bloods were getting the attention. Little did we know, as I reached for the door-handle, that it all would come together in a big bloody mess tonight.

_***THWACK!***_

"Take one more step 'n' yer dead, son."

Jayce and I suddenly faced a large dagger stickin' out of the entrance to the hideout, thrown by the former thieving leader himself. I'm not too proud to admit that it surprised me more than Jayce, but I recognised the voice _and _the weapon straight away.

"I'll step wherever the hell I want, Rhaz."

Rhaz's form slowly hazed into view as I turned to the roof of the building behind us, seeing his giant cloak floundering about like some fish outta water before he grunted.

"Wasn't talkin' to you, Red."

I shot a quick glance back at Jayce who remained unshaken behind me. Heh, might not have had the heart to kill, but he had nerves of steel - that's for sure. All that aside, Rhaz's attitude was starting to _really_ piss me the fuck off.

"You know, you're gonna kill one of us with these stupid knives someday," I said as I yanked the fuckin' knife out and slammed it through the boards of the pier, hearing the gutless wonder jump from his perch. Sneak-attacks – cunt wouldn't know honour if it smashed his teeth in.

"Just one of us, Red. Namely…"

He landed with a loud crunch on the wooden boards as Jayce rounded his shoulders.

"… him."

I stood in front of Jayce, staring Rhaz down as he approached with thin slivers of steel glistening from his hands.

"Yer gon' stay away from this place from now on, y'hear?" Rhaz said, walking into the light and crossing his arms. "Ain't no work for anyone like you, not while I'm here, got that?"

Pfft, people'd think he fuckin' _ran_ the place, the way he acted, but he wasn't about to drive my partner (and more importantly, my pay-rise) away just because his title was taken.

"Not gonna happen. The thief's my partner-"

"Stay outta this, Red," Rhaz cut in, to which I raised my brows.

"You're threatening _my_ partner, Rhaz," I replied, reaching into my bag and working my fingers into my claws' grip. "I know you're not smart, but that's a dent in my pay cheque, so if I were you I'd clear off now before I start getting nasty."

"This doesn't concern you, Amarant," Rhaz persisted, tossing his weapons to the ground as he pulled back his hood, "so fer the last time, _clear off._"

I felt a hand slap against my shoulder as Jayce walked past me, cracking his knuckles as he locked a gaze with Rhaz.

"So, all this just because you think I stole your title?" he asked, folding his arms shaking his head in disbelief.

"Nothin' personal, kid, but I've got a reputation. Just 'cause you swiped a few crown jewels way back when don't mean that you're better 'n' me, and I proved that when I returned 'em."

I found my grip tightening around my claws as I reefed them from my bag. Fucking bastard.

"You mother fuckin' piece of shit! So _you're _the reason we've been blacklisted!" I bellowed, launching towards Rhaz just before Jayce pinned me in a Full Nelson. About a week after the heist, the prized possessions of the Alexandrian Royal Family found themselves happily returned and, along with 'em, two identities of the shaded individuals convicted of the crime mysteriously revealed. The bounties on our heads just kept on growing after that and we had to turn to permanent night-shift.

"Yeah, that's right, Red, and seein' as how you _don't_ wanna stay outta this, _yer_ now part of the problem, so you _both_ have to clear off," came Rhaz's snide remark as he cracked his knuckles. "Ain't no one here care about seein' yer faces again."

"Jayce, I'll fuckin' kill you if you don't let me go! _Get the fuck offa me!"_

"Just… _fuckin' RELAX, AMARANT!_" Jayce grunted, throwing me off to the side as I lost my footing and broke into a recovery roll. Launching myself up, I turned furiously towards him. "Just shut up, I'll take care of this, alright?"

I snorted – Jayce was gonna take him out, huh?

"You won't kill anyone, Jayce. No offense, but you're useless in this situation. Unless he's dead-" I motioned to Rhaz, "-_we_ aren't gonna be safe anymore."

"Well, like you said," Jayce began, taking a few steps towards Rhaz and cracking his neck, "everyone needs a first."

I couldn't believe what I just heard. Was I actually just about to see the newbie finally grow a backbone?

"I've squatted flies bigger 'n' you, son. It's not smart to challenge me," Rhaz stated, reaching into the pockets of his pants and pulling out two metal-knuckled gloves. I turned to Rhaz, raising a brow as Jayce sighed.

"I'm sure, but if you take me on, I'm not gonna lose. I hope you realise that."

Rhaz scoffed and pulled his gloves on, but for the first time in my life I actually felt concerned about him. I turned to Jayce – he'd never had that look in his eyes before. It was crazy, almost more insane than my own.

"You're making a mistake, Rhaz," I warned, taking a step back and allowing them room, because God knows they'd need it soon.

"Yeah, well that's my problem, so shut yer fuckin' mouth!" he retorted, once again immediately on the defensive as I shrugged, folded my arms and stayed off to the side. Jayce eyed Rhaz as he took a couple of steps forward, taking off his bag and tossing it aside disinterestedly with a loud clatter.

"Well, you're just full of stupid decisions, aren't ya?" Jayce stated, swiping his hands together and cracking his knuckles. "Just what are you tryin' to prove?"

"To you? Nothin', but I'm tryin' to show the boss that _I'm_ the bandit 'sgonna be bringin' Garnet's pendant in. I'm not about to let some pussy-footin' kiss-ass suck his way into _my_ job title!"

"If you're so good, then step up," Jayce retorted, clenching his fists and preparing for a scrap as Rhaz threw off his cloak, tossing his weapons behind him in the process. Rhaz feigned an advance towards Jayce as Jayce remained unmoved, bringing a fist up to his chest.

"I think it's time you get taken down a notch, greenhorn," Rhaz jibed, feigning another advance as Jayce stood fast, strong - every bit the fuckin' animal that I knew he _could_ be… This was gonna be _great_.

"Lemme warn you, Rhaz, my sister's life is on the line," Jayce said as he drew two black gloves from the pocket of his coat, pulling them on as Rhaz squared off against him. "This is your last chance – turn away now."

"My last chance?" he retorted, raising a brow and laughing as he punched his fists together. "Yer outta yer fuckin' league, son."

Rhaz darted his eyes to me as I raised a brow. Hah, hope he wasn't expecting any backup.

"It's _your_ _problem_, Rhaz, so c'mon - show us how you're gonna deal with it."

With a hock of his throat and a hefty spit over the pier, Rhaz turned to me and pointed.

"You're gon' be next, asshole."

"Can't wait, princess."

Rhaz was, of course, the first to throw a punch to Jayce, only to be easily avoided and thrown off balance. He recovered quickly, edging towards Jayce as I darted to the floor above us, making sure no one, especially the kids, were lookin'. Didn't need them to see a man die before their time…

"You gonna start fightin' or keep on fuckin' dancing, pansy?" Rhaz shouted as Jayce seemingly glided across the dock before he took to a proper fighting stance – _his_ fighting stance. I knew the outcome from then on; Rhaz was as good as dead.

"You threw the first punch; it's self-defence from here."

Succeeding that sentence, a painful blow to Rhaz's front (that I'm not even sure he saw coming) sent him recoiling back a few steps, clutching his chest and raising his widened eyes towards Jayce. Jayce returned to the attack, launching a knee to Rhaz's face that was quickly avoided and countered with a boot to the chest. Jayce was blown back, but barely phased – it'd take a fuckin' behemoth to bring the man down. Quickly recovering, Jayce squared off against Rhaz as I took to the roof of the hideout. I wanted a better view.

"You should follow yer friend – run away, princess."

Jayce scoffed at Rhaz's comment, undeterred by his 'brutal' threats as I laughed, turning to the scene below me.

"Yeah, I'm fuckin' shaking. Look, can we get this over with? I'm _really _hungry and you're old as fuck."

Rhaz grunted, punching his knuckles together as he launched towards Jayce yet again. Slamming knuckle to knuckle, blood and snot flew in all directions – Rhaz was old, but he _still_ had a bit of fight in 'im. He was even giving Jayce a run for his money, but I knew that wouldn't last. I watched the two go back and forth for what must have been at least a half hour, making sure that no guards were on patrol… until Rhaz might have possibly said the stupidest thing he'd ever spouted in his life. After landing a blow that threw Jayce to the ground, Rhaz towered over him as he spat a tooth out on the dock.

"Fuckin' 'family man', eh? Well, after I'm through with you, that pretty little 'Sarah' is next!"

That was the last mistake Rhaz would ever make, and I almost fuckin' shit myself in excitement.

Jayce released an almighty cry as he slammed a boot into Rhaz's knee, stirring a raging bellow from the former Thieving Leader as a piercing crack echoed through the docks. After Rhaz fell backwards (quite possibly onto what was left of his kneecap), Jayce swung a hand underneath his chin, seizing his neck and launching the two of them off the ground. Rhaz released a strangled yelp as he was promptly slammed into the floor once, twice… three times, throwing a faltering fist to Jayce's face that was swiftly blocked and countered with one hell of a right cross. I reckon he near broke the prick's neck as Jayce broke out, slamming blow after blow onto the bastard as he struggled pathetically, desperate to break himself free of Jayce's assault. I approached with a shrug, watching blood, skin and teeth fall across the pier. It was fucking _beautiful_ – the kid was finally getting his killer instinct.

"You shoulda listened to the kid, Rhaz," I stated, watching gleefully as Jayce continued beating the snot outta the warbling prick. "Shoulda backed off when you had the chance."

Jayce finished with one more blow to Rhaz's face as he jumped up from him, walking over to his discarded coat and bag and leaving Rhaz tattered on the dock. Jayce got out looking a lot better, I gotta say, save for a bit of blood upside his head.

"Sleep, you old fuck," Jayce spat back at Rhaz who made some kind of gurgling sound before throwing up whatever was left of the blood in his body. This wasn't what I expected – he'd threatened his goddamn sister!... not to mention he was a contemptuous prick. Either way, why Rhaz was still breathing was beyond me.

"You're kidding, Jayce?" I cried, dashing over to Jayce and stopping his movements. "_You're just gonna leave him there!?"_

"I'm a thief, Red, not a killer, I've told you this," was his response as he spat a mouthful of blood on the dock. "When someone deserves a beating, they get it. Just 'cause he's a lowly prick doesn't mean he deserves to die-"

"HE FUCKIN' RATTED US OUT! It's _his_ fault that we can't show our faces during the day anymore-"

"We stole the fucking jewels, Red!" he spat, grabbing me by my collar as I copied his notion. "We're just as much to blame as he is!"

"So, _now_ you decide to go _fucking noble!?_ What the _FUCK_ is _WRONG WITH YOU!?_"

"I'M NOT YOU, AMARANT, ALRIGHT!?"

At that comment, Jayce and I released each other. There was no getting through to him… bastard was about as stubborn as I was.

"Tch, yeah, I know. But mark my words, you're making a mistake leaving him alive."

"Then that'll be a mistake that I deal with when it happens! Now, I'm_ hungry_, so I'm going to the bar. Get your shit, cash the cheques and meet me up there - I'll have a steak waiting for ya."

Jayce turned from me and picked up his coat and bag. He was making a mistake leaving Rhaz there – that, I could plainly see. What I didn't see, however, was that the bastard still had a little bit of fight in him, but stupidly opted out of a surprise attack.

"_You'll fuckin' sleep first, cunt!"_

I saw red as I heard the floorboards creak and what sounded like a jangling of metal. I drew my claws faster than I can remember and lunged past Jayce, swiping towards Rhaz's outstretched arm, dagger held fast and pointing to Jayce's back. Blood splashed across the pier as the deafening crack of a snapped bone rung through my ears, watching as the dagger fell to the ground, still held firmly in his severed arm. A cry of pain echoed through the bowels of the slums as Rhaz clutched at his missing limb, falling to his knees as I slammed the brunt of my boot into his face, sending him flying back towards the pile of broken teeth. Before I could even hear Jayce's protests or see him reaching towards me, I launched myself at him, bellowing loudly and driving my claws downwards, slamming them into his chest. A muffled cry escaped him as he hacked up more blood, adding to the small river currently flowing off the side of the boardwalk. I met his eyes as he flickered his eyelids – wasn't the first time I'd seen a man die and wouldn't be the last, but he smiled dumbly as he spat whatever the fuck was in his mouth onto my face. Sick – mother – fucker. He watched the look on my face, widening his smile as he broke into a horrible, gurgling laugh. I ripped my blades from his chest, grabbed him by the neck and dragged his broken ass to the edge of the dock, lifting him over the river and meeting his eyes one last time. Managing one more toothless smile, he spluttered his last words to me, not unlike any I'd heard before.

"I'll see you in Hell, Red."

I smirk lined my lips as I snorted a laugh.

"Save me a place in line."

Allowed him to fall just a heartbeat, I pulled back my claws and slammed them upwards into his throat as one last gurgle escaped his lips. God, I couldn't tell you how long I'd wanted to do that. I watched his form slide through my claws as his body slapped onto the river and began a leisurely journey downstream. Flicking the blood off my weapon and bidding a fond farewell, I turned around, seeing Jayce standing beside the door with folded arms. He'd already put his coat and bag back on as he met my eyes from the dim light of the door. We stared virulently towards each other for what seemed like hours before he shook his head and turned to Rhaz's cloak, bag and weapons strewn about on the dock.

"Don't you fuckin' _dare_ gimme that shit, Jayce," I started, making my way towards him. "He was asking to die."

Jayce sighed as I flicked my claws once more, quickly replacing them in my bag as he spoke.

"Whatever. Are ya done?"

His eyes held a mixture of gratitude and annoyance as I met 'em once more. I turned coldly from him, watching Rhaz's body continue its slow journey as I hocked and spat.

"It was either you or him. Be thankful I chose my pay-cheque."

A small smile lined his lips as Jayce turned to the ladder, walking over to it and slapping a hand on one of the rungs.

"I am, so hurry the fuck up – I don't like eatin' alone in this place."

I smiled as I turned to him, watching him scale the ladder – newbie was finally learning.

"Medium-rare, alright?"

"I know! Hurry up!"

I turned from Jayce to the mess on the dock, admiring the bag of weapons and cloak that Rhaz had cast off before his last fight. Decent trail of blood following me to the end of the dock, too... but Rhaz's arm was what I fixed on, watching while what was left of it bled out. That dagger would make a great trophy…

* * *

"What can I do for ya, Red?"

I threw my bag onto the boss' desk, watching as he quickly opened it to peruse the contents.

"Three diamond rings and the intercepted letter from me and whatever the hell you asked Jayce to get for ya."

A smile wiped across his wide face as he took out what he wanted, laying the rings and envelope on one side and… something that looked like a lot of necklaces and a couple of rubies on the other. A hefty and coarse laugh left him as he opened his desk, taking out two fat envelopes and stuffed 'em into my bag.

"Twenty g's for you, fifteen for the kid. Not bad, eh?"

"For what I'm sure they're worth, not bad at all."

I motioned to the crap on his desk as he wheezed out another breathy laugh, tossing my bag back to me and quickly noticing the severed limb in my hand. A slight pinch of his brows was his reaction as I snatched my bag from the air and noticed his darting eyes.

"Ya had fun with Rhaz, then?" he asked, still smiling as he reached into his desk, taking and popping a cigar into his mouth. I turned to the severed hand and shrugged.

"What was left of him."

The boss barely reacted beyond a raised brow as he swiped a match across the desk.

"Save anything?"

I lifted the hand to my eyes, metal-plated gloves and dagger still intact.

"Cloak, decent few weapons and one plated glove, unless you wanna count the teeth that Jayce knocked outta him on the dock."

"Eh, I don't believe in the tooth fairy."

I laughed. This fat prick was sick.

"Ah well. Take what you want, probably a few decent throwing weapons out there. Anyways, you saved me his last payout-"

Wow. What a fuckin' cheap ass cunt...

"-so here. You like whiskey, doncha?"

He threw his match-stick away as he puffed a smoke ring into his liquor cabinet, producing a rather fine bottle of whiskey. I raised a brow.

"Yeah, I do."

With that, he tossed the bottle to me as I seized it, reading the label: 25 yrs… well, fuck me dead.

"One less mouth I gotta feed means more bonuses for you two. You'd better not fuck it up now – you're the top of my game, alright?"

I smirked and nodded, raising the bottle in acknowledgment to whatever kinda compliment you could call that.

"Cheers."

"No worries, now get the fuck outta here – I got shit to do."

A hefty laugh from the boss had me on my way and outta the door. Fuck me – that steak was gonna taste fucking beautiful.

* * *

**_LS._**


	4. Trust your instincts

"… and then this moron jumps outta the house-"

"-with the dagger hangin' outta my back-"

"Hahaha, _with_ the dagger hangin' outta his back and whaddaya think he says?"

"Oh, God," Sarah chimed through a laugh, threading the needle through my shoulder again. "I have no idea. What did he say?"

"Hey says, 'Jayce, _Jayce!-"_

"_-I got the fuckin' point!"_

Jayce and I split our sides with laughter upon finishing the sentence together. I slapped a hand onto my knee, gliding a hand over one of many battle scars as Sarah went about stitching up the latest notch in my belt – or, more appropriately, shoulder. The latest mission was a prick – supposed to be in and out quietly, clean as a whistle, but the guards that hang around Lindblum… they don't exactly make for an easy escape.

"Oh my God, you two… you're gonna be the _death_ of me!"

"We'll be the death of each other before that happens, don't you worry," I replied, chuckling as Jayce grinned and glided a hand over a long and already stitched gash along his forearm. Adjusting his plated gloves and throwing his newest coat slackly onto another chair, he cleared his throat and walked off into the kitchen.

"Well I'm gonna be the death of you if you don't sit still, Amarant!" Sarah laughed, completing the final touches to my wound and tying the knot at the end. Woman was an artist with a needle. "Alright, there you go. Didn't hurt a bit, right?"

"I'll let you know when I can feel it again," I replied, reaching over my back and gliding a hand over the stitching. A light slap from Sarah had me laughing as I rose to my feet.

"No touching! Let it heal, alright?"

I laughed as she took the tie from her hair, allowing her long chestnut locks to fall over her shoulders. Yeah… she was beautiful…

"Yes, _mum._"

… but I wasn't about to let her know that. I stole one quick look to her legs as she jumped up from her chair and made her way towards the kitchen after Jayce. Slightly perverted, maybe, but _Christ_ she had some legs on her. Body of a Queen… damnit.  
It was about that time that the closing of a fridge door caught my attention. Cutting my thoughts (and eyes) away from Sarah just in time, I met the eyes of Jayce as he emerged from the kitchen with two beer bottles in hand. Looking me up and down with a raised brow as Sarah passed him with a light slap to his stomach, he laughed and threw a bottle towards me.

"Ya gonna put your vest back on, gorgeous?"

Catching the bottle and suddenly realising that I'd completely forgotten to redress myself, I glanced to my vest, still laid across the small, wooden table. I shot a grunt of realisation towards him as he laughed, cracking open the lid of his bottle.

"She distracted you _that_ much, eh?"

I shot him a look as I plonked my beer onto the table, collecting my vest and whipping it on rather quickly.

"Pretty women, y'know."

"Awww, and here I was, thinking that you only had eyes for me," Jayce joked as he took a generous swig from his bottle, prompting a laugh from yours truly.

"Assumptions, pretty boy," I started, collecting and draining half of my beer bottle through a laugh. "With a woman like that walking 'round here, you honestly think I'm gonna spare you a side-glance?"

"_No chance in hell!"_

Jayce and I snickered at the fleeting trill as Sarah danced about the kitchen. Jayce turned to me, a prominent smile upon his face.

"Well, that's alright. I know you'd be lost without me anyways," he stated confidently, reaching through a victorious stretch.

"Now, imagine if you stopped making me money," I cut in, shrugging my shoulders and leaning on a nearby chair, "where would we be then?"

"There you go again - always letting the money come between us," Jayce replied with a smirk, joining me and leaning on a chair over the opposite end of the table. "Three years and I'm still just a pay-cheque - no wonder you're single."

"You can talk. Still, I've already said I would gladly take her off your hands," I stated with a laugh, glancing to the left as Sarah continued about the kitchen, distracting herself with something or other, "but I kinda get the feeling that you might not appreciate me 'dating' your little sister."

Jayce scoffed.

"What am I, her father? By all means, you're allowed to," he began taking a sip of his beer, "just remember - you break her heart, I break your face."

"And there's the reason that I'm steerin' clear," I replied, taking a much larger swig of my own drink. "Heartbreaker kinda comes with the job title. Besides, can't spoil the money-maker – how would I get a woman then?"

Jayce released a laugh as I pointed to my rugged features.

"You could always scare her into submission?" he laughed, raising his brows towards me as he downed whatever was left of his beer. Hah, what a prick – spitting image of his partner, I'd say.

"Not a bad idea, actually…" I reiterated as Jayce placed the empty bottle onto the table.

"Hah, whatever. Just remember my motto – Anyone woman silly enough to wanna marry me is too silly for me to marry."

I laughed in agreement, tipping my beer towards him as he mimicked the motion with his empty bottle.

"I like that," I stated, continuing to laugh. "Eh, women are too much trouble anyways."

Jayce folded his arms, nodding in agreement.

"Why else d'ya think _I'm _still single?"

"Because you're already living with the most _beautiful_ girl on all of Gaia, duh!"

Sarah's voice danced through the room like a beautiful song as she emerged from the kitchen with a Hi-potion, wrapping an arm around Jayce and pulling him into a light head-butt.

"Well… there you go. Here's the reason, Red," Jayce said with a smile, placing an arm around Sarah who playfully kissed his mop of dark hair. I laughed and shook my head as Sarah shrugged.

"Hah, like I said – I'll find a man who's as protective of me as you are when _you_ find a woman who can actually put up with you like I can."

Sarah gave a light rap of her knuckles to Jayce's head as he squeezed her shoulder. She quickly swept from his side and made her way to me, holding the potion towards me.

"Don't make me force-feed this to you like last time."

I cringed. Never been a fan of Hi-potions – you get the same healing effect from half a bottle of whiskey. Nevertheless, the carrier was reason enough for me to take the bottle with at least half a smile.

"Tch, pain in the ass."

"You must be rubbin' off on me."

"Not as much as I'd like to be."

A quick drop of Sarah's jaw followed by a disgusted smirk had me in stitches as I lifted a defensive forearm, blocking an incoming barrage of half-hearted slaps. Jayce, as opposed to what I thought he'd do upon hearing the innuendo, bent over his chair and mimicked my fit of laughter as Sarah rolled her eyes and darted between us.

"Are you two _ever_ gonna grow up?"

Jayce and I succinctly timed our words, speaking in perfect unison as we pointed to each other through eager smirks.

"When he does."

We collapsed into a fit of laughter as Sarah joined in, shaking her head and slapping a hand to her mouth. I had to admit – after a lifetime of being on my own, having two people that I could call 'family' was starting to seem like a pretty great idea.

"You know what? We need to go somewhere – all three of us."

Jayce propped himself up upon hearing Sarah's sudden suggestion, raising a surprised response as I heaved myself into my seat.

"Somewhere? Like where?"

"I don't know… somewhere we haven't been before... like the beaches around Cleyra! I've always wanted to see them. Apparently, just before sunset, you can see all the way to the Outer Continent!"

"Pfft, why would you wanna see that?" Jayce scoffed, pulling the chair out as he, too, took a seat. Sarah shot him the most threatening glare she could muster… heh, _meow_.

"So I can _paint_ it, dummy! The last one I did was of the three of us and that was three months ago. So I think it's high time for a family vacation!"

I eyed the picture she was talking about. The three of us, Jayce, Sarah and my ugly mug – she'd strung it up over the living room duchess. She was a brilliant artist – caught the pure essence of my giant nose, which she constantly reminds me of… heh, bitch. I snorted a quick laugh at the memory.

"Vacation to Cleyra, huh?" I mused, running the thought through my mind as I suddenly pictured Sarah in a swimsuit. "… I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Jayce smirked as he seemed to throw the idea of a vacation around his own head. Shooting a quick glance to Sarah who returned with pursed lips and eager, pleading eyes, Jayce rolled his eyes with a sigh, shaking his head and smiling.

"Looks like we're going on a vacation after this mission, Red."

Sarah squeaked out an ecstatic round of giggles as she leapt towards Jayce, throwing her arms around him as he half-heartedly patted a hand to her shoulder.

"The things I do for you, woman."

* * *

This whole situation stunk to the high heavens. Just when you get a good thing going…

"Our last job?"

"That's right, kids, I'm pushin' retirement," came the coarse, bloated response from behind his desk. Pushing retirement? Pushing bereavement, more like it. His health was so low, it was a wonder he could still breathe. I was surprised he'd lasted this long.

"Anyone else know about this?" I asked as the remaining team quickly ran through my mind – clearly a fast forgotten thought for the boss.

"Everyone else's high-tailed it. As soon as I mentioned their last job, they all pissed off, looking for more work. Didn't even leave me a goodbye card."

… Hope he wasn't looking to me for sympathy. Only thing I'd miss was my pay-cheque.

"Out with the old, they say…" Jayce piped up from the door, leaning against the wooden walls beside the frame. "So, where ya goin' from here?"

"Hah, stayin' right here, son! I'm moving up the bureaucracy," he stated happily, slapping his gut and reaching for another cigar. "This time next year, I'll be a big, fat noble, suckin' on a cigar with a bottle of whiskey to my right and some money-grubbin' skank to my left!"

"Got the first part down, chubs," I snidely remarked, folding my arms and watching the callous smirk wipe across his visage.

"Hah, never gonna change, aye, Red?"

"Clearly not before your retirement, that's for sure."

A quick puff from his freshly lit cigar had him swallowed in wheezing laughter, choking out cough after cough as he reached for a pile of paper.

"Well _-*wheeze!*-_ here's the sheets if you _-*hack!*-_ wanna make your final cut."

Jayce grunted, making his way towards us from the door after noisily dropping his bag.

"C'mon, boss. You can't be serious?" Jayce returned, approaching the desk with a disappointed sigh. "Red's only just started getting good."

"Heh, I don't have enough years to wait," he retorted, smirking and shooting a glance to me. What is this, high school?

"Pfft, I'll always be two steps ahead of either of you, any day," I replied in confidence, folding my arms and facing the fat lump. "Fuck me dead, this mission had better pay alright. Can't point us in the direction of anyone hiring, can you?"

"Us?" he inquired, darting from Jayce and back to me. Even I didn't realise what I'd said at first… until he continued. "You're looking out for someone else, Red?"

I shot him a confused look as I turned to Jayce, raising a brow and quickly deciphering what he meant. Couldn't be farther from the truth… or so I wanted to believe.

"Don't get me wrong," I started, turning back towards him as Jayce took the papers and began scanning over them, "I'm just looking after my money. Considering we make more as a team, I'd like to keep the newbie with me."

The boss smiled, leaning back in his chair matter-of-factly and nodding his head about as though he'd won a prize.

"Well, well, well," he said, taking another puff on his cigar, "looks like you _-*wheeze!*-_ _have_ changed after all."

Before I could muster the brain-power for some kind of response, Jayce suddenly caught my attention as he gripped the papers with a loud rustle.

"_Whoa!"_ he called out, shoving the papers over to me and turning to the boss. "Two-fifty g's _each?_"

"That's about right," the boss replied. "Got no one else to pay, so I might as well not let good money go to waste."

I quickly scanned the papers, finding the payment – Two-hundred and fifty-thousand gil a piece. Jesus Christ… if Rhaz could see us now, heh.

"Son of a bitch… are you serious, boss?"

Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, the boss threw two thick envelopes towards us, each one as big as a brick.

"Serious or just stupid – you be the judge. Not bad for a final payout, eh? Eh?"

Not bad? Christ, it was the most money I'd ever held in my life…

"I suppose this is the upfront?" I asked, flashing the envelope before him.

"One hundred now, the rest when you bring back what's left of 'im."

Quickly skimming over the papers, I noted that there was two people we… pfft, _I_ needed to kill and some poor bastard that Jayce was gonna rob blind. Hmph… the boss must be holdin' a serious grudge if he's willing to pay that much to have 'em offed…

"You must really hate these assholes… what'd they do to ya?"

The lump sighed behind his desk, shrugging his shoulders as he puffed on his cigar.

"That's just the thing – they didn't do anything… I don't even hate 'em, not really… but my retirement will run a whole lot smoother if they aren't here, know what I'm sayin'?"

I internally rolled my eyes. _'Yeah, you owe 'em money, you cheap prick."_

"Cuttin' your losses, eh, big guy?" jibed Jayce, reading my mind and quickly pocketing his envelope as the boss chuckled through a phlegmy cough. Seriously, the bastard got more disgusting every time I saw him… thankfully, a problem I wouldn't have to deal with much longer.

"You could say that, tenderfoot. Anyways," he began, reaching through a yawn and nodding to the door, "I'd get a move on - it's gonna be a long night for all of us."

"Yeah, true that," I replied, shoving my envelope into my vest pocket and motioning to Jayce. "C'mon, greenback, let's cash our last job."

A smirk lined Jayce's features as he waved goodbye to the boss, soon joining me in collecting his bag and heading for the door. Wasn't till I heard the clicking of some kinda latch that I suddenly hesitated, causing my eyes to shoot open in the process. I was never a fan of 'clicks'…

"Aye, boys…"

Just managing to get a hand on the door, I stopped and turned wide-eyed towards the voice, quickly shoving my hand into my bag and equipping my claws, just as Jayce did. However, instead of finding his signature pistol, poised and ready to fire as was my presumption, I watched the boss approach us with a bottle in each hand.

"Geez, a little on edge, eh? HAHAHAH-*_HACK!*"_

Quickly removing my hand from my bag, I sighed in relief, shaking my head.

"Gets that way after a while… you know how it is…" I said, watching Jayce pull his hand out of his bag as well. The boss chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Can't blame ya. Anyways, you two are the only ones left, so…"

He shoved the bottles into our hands. Big, fancy bottles. Musta cost a mint, even though it was still just whiskey.

"Take them as a last 'thank-you' from this lump o' lard, HAH! _-*WHEEEEEEEEEEZE!*-_ It'd be a shame to waste good whiskey on someone who's just gonna piss it all out, ya know? So… make sure you drink some tonight for me, eh? I'll miss ya, boys. Take care of yourselves, y'hear?"

… Well that was surprisingly heartfelt…

"Hah, don't worry – we won't die until we pick up our cheques tomorrow. Thanks for the memories, eh?" I replied, performing a two fingered salute as the boss smiled from where he stood.

"Happy to give 'em – they're cheap, after all! HAHAHAH-_*WHEEEeeEEeeEEeeEEEZE!*"_

I closed the door behind us, slipping the bottle into my bag as Jayce spun his around in his hand.

* * *

"I'm just sayin' I don't like it, that's all."

I rolled my eyes – Jayce was making a mountain out of a molehill, as per usual. After dropping the whiskey bottles off at my place and promising to crack them open when we got back to Sarah, Jayce and I had made well on our way out of Treno… and Jayce had turned surprisingly edgy, which wasn't strange, but he was really overdoing it tonight.

"You've got a hundred G's and thirty year old whiskey sittin' at home – what's not to like?"

Jayce groaned, quickly grabbing my shoulder and whipping me around to face him.

"Amarant, you aren't stupid. Use your fuckin' brain for once, alright?"

… Now that surprised me. Slightly taken aback, I shook my head and sighed.

"Alright, what is it _this_ time?" I asked, seemingly more than content to humour his little escapade as we continued walking.

"He gave us the upfront, right?"

I raised a brow.

"Yeah, so?"

"And he knows we'll be over to pick up the rest tomorrow, right?"

"What are you tryin' to-"

"Then why did he say goodbye just then?"

I stopped, literally, in my tracks. For some reason, right then and there, I felt like I'd just been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer.

"Seemed pretty heartfelt for only half a fuckin' day of absence, right?" Jayce continued as I my mind ran impromptu. "And c'mon – you can't tell me that you actually think the others just got up and left? We haven't seen any of the other guys in weeks! Jack, Kaol, Rookie… even Cam, and he's his right hand man! So _that's_ why I don't like this - any of it. And, to top it off-"

He quickly pulled out the paperwork, thrusting it in my face and pointing to the location.

"-Alexandria. We're going to _fucking_ _Alexandria!_ The boss knows the bounties on our heads and _everyone_ in Alexandria is looking for us! We haven't been back there in over a year, Red – _that's _the reason we missed out on the half-a-million heist! _Now_ am I fuckin' making sense?"

Jesus Christ… that fat fucker sold us out – he fucking sold us out! He was sending us to Alexandria on a silver platter, with _one hundred thousand piece of stolen gil… EACH!_ _HOW_ the royal _fuck_ could I have been so stupid!? Every day of the last… God, _however_ many years, I'd just done everything I'd been asked, as long as there was money involved… had I honestly become that blasé?

"Jesus fucking Christ…" I shot, returning to my senses and turning to face Treno, "… we gotta get outta here, and we gotta go now!"

I started bolting back towards Treno as Jayce quickly made it to my side.

"It's about fuckin' time! But where the fuck are we going?"

"I-I dunno, but anywhere other than-"

_***Sch-click!***_

"Evenin', boys."

… Fucking fat son of a bitch.


	5. Curtain Call

"So how much is he payin' ya?"

"About as much as you've got on you, buddy, just like the others."

Taking us further East of Treno, the two suits were barely discernible in the dim lighting. Clouds had begun to sweep over the moon, leaving scarcely any light at all. After taking our bags from us, they'd led us straight towards the cave of some loopy Qu. A secluded area - easy killing, like fish in a fucking barrel. No one would hear us out here… they'd toss our bodies over the cliffs. How did I know? Because that's what I would do.

"Told ya, Red," said Jayce, turning to me as we continued. "Boss sold us all out."

The grunt behind me snickered.

"Yeah, that's about right – paid us pretty well, too."

"Fucking fat son of a bitch," I grunted, following the bastards lead as the barrel of his gun butted against my head.

"Pick up the pace, Red – I ain't got all night."

Tch, yeah… clearly, neither do we.

"Yeah, like _we_ don't have better fuckin' places to be."

Hah, fuck, I loved Jayce sometimes – here we were, looking down two smokin' barrels towards our early retirement and he _still_ managed to shoot a smarmy remark. Partners 'till the end, eh?

"Well, just so you know, once we bring your dead bodies back with us, we're _all_ gonna be in a better place."

"Heard this one's got a pretty little place in Lindblum. That goin' on sale anytime soon, eh?"

Jayce shot a threatening eye behind him, thankfully unseen by the grunt as we both kept our heads forward. Pushing the barrel to Jayce's head with a dull 'thud', the fuckhead behind him repeated his question and then some… what an idiot.

"I asked you a question, pretty boy – you gonna answer, or am I gonna hafta fuck a response outta that pretty little sister o' yours?"

What happened next was a blur – a fucking beautiful, bloody blur.

I shielded my eyes as a brilliant light suddenly burst out from underneath Jayce, consuming him as he released an almighty bellow. Faster than I could see him move, he ducked under the outstretched pistol of the guy behind him, bringing a boot down _through_ his knee as a cry of pain echoed through the mountain range. Reaching into his bag that was wrapped around the grunt's waist and pulling out his claws with the same blinding speed, he whirled around to the side of the guy behind me, barely giving him time to turn his gun towards himself as Jayce drove his claws down through his arm. A symphony of cracking and crunching filled my ears as the two grunts fell to the ground, blood soaked and screaming as Jayce knelt down and quickly ripped both of our bags offa what was left of 'em.

"FAAAAHAHAHUUUUCK! YOU FUCKING _CUNT!_ WHAT THE FUCK _ARE YOU!?_" screamed the armless wonder as he flailed about in a pool of his own blood, matching screams of agony with his bitch of a partner. Jayce stomped a foot against his severed limb, rousing another loud shriek of pain as he knelt down beside him.

"I'm somethin' that you shouldn't fuckin' provoke."

Jayce turned to the second grunt, kicking his gun out of his hand as he cried out, grasping at the remains of his dangling leg. Turning to me, Jayce jumped to my side as I was met with the craziest look I'd ever seen him wear. Instead of the standard brown that his eyes usually were, a lethal crimson burned through his irises, matching his hair as it flailed spastically, elongated to about halfway down his coat. I could feel the raw power surging through him, just standing next to him, and I immediately knew what it was. It had happened to me only once before, just as I was slamming my claws through my very first kill – Jayce had tranced. The legendary surge of emotion and power, and he'd finally achieved it. A smile wiped across my face as he flipped my bag to me and, without needing any prompting whatsoever, we both turned back to Treno and fled. We tore across the landscape faster than we'd ever moved in our lives. Of course, once again, Jayce had made the mistake of not killing them and, before we'd gone too far, a series of gunshots exploded from behind us. Immediately ducking and jumping into 'The Serpentine', Jayce and I zigzagged away from them, dashing towards a nearby forest before a bolt of pain sliced through my shoulder.

"ARGH! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!"

"AMARANT!"

A straying bullet tore through my arm, spraying blood across the floor before me as latched a hand to my shoulder. Hearing Jayce grunt as he followed behind me, barely comprehensible shoutings danced across my ears as we sped away from the bloody scene, my head suddenly swelling with air.

"_Shoot the fucking flare, you idiot!"_

"_THAT CUNT CUT MY FUCKING ARM OFF!"_

"_FUCKING CHRIST, SHOOT THE FUCKING FLARE!"_

Whatever else they said was drowned out by the drumming of my heart in my ears. Catching up to me, Jayce threw an arm underneath me, lifting me as a burning red light burst over us, exploding into the sky and lighting it with a crimson explosion.

"Fuck, they have backup!" cried Jayce, to which I shook my head, attempted to regain my senses and tried to shove him off of me – I wasn't going to have his death on my conscience.

"Then what the fuck are you waiting for!? Leave me here and get the fuck back to Lindblum – you've gotta fucking sister to support!"

"I've also got a best friend that I'm not gonna leave to die!"

"Jayce!" I cried, continuing my attempts to push him away as we neared the forest. "There's _no point_ in the two of us dying! _You_ can _fix_ this!"

We staggered towards the forest as I wrenched my claws, a serrated Wing Edge and Rhaz's dagger outta my bag, thereafter ripping it off my shoulder and pushing it into Jayce's chest. He shot a dubious glance towards me, his eyes and hair still a burning shade of crimson.

"Take my bag, get back to the hideout and beat the living fuck outta that fat cunt of a boss! If I make it back, I'll meet you at my place no later than one o'clock-"

"Amarant, I'm not fuckin' leaving you behind-"

"-and I'm not having you dead because of me!" I shouted, cutting him off and finally shaking him off of me. "Jayce, second chances _don't_ happen! You've finally got it right and with this money, you can keep Sarah _and_ yourself outta the shit for years!"

Narrowing his eyes towards me, Jayce and I locked a gaze for what seemed like hours before I placed a reassuring hand to his shoulder.

"You just make sure you pick up whatever's left from that fat fuck, alright? For God's sake, don't let the only noble thing I ever do in my life be for nothing, y'hear me?"

I finished with a laugh as Jayce struggled to obey. I could tell he didn't want to leave, but he knew that he had to. Sarah was counting on him. Finally, he smiled and shook his head.

"Goddamnit… we were supposed to see this one out together, you fucking stubborn asshole," he said through a laugh. I returned the notion, wincing as I grabbed at my bloody shoulder before a loudening stampeding caught our attention.

"… was over here, near the cave! _C'mon boys!"_

Jayce and I turned towards the voice, spotting a group of Chocobos running towards the two bloodied grunts, each supporting a rider lavished in black – didn't exactly look like a good fucking sign, did it now? I turned to Jayce, pushing him towards the forest with my good arm.

"Well, go on, then! You get a head start through the forest; I'll keep 'em off your ass. Remember - one o'clock!"

With that, Jayce nodded towards me intently with one of his signature can-do smiles.

"I'll have a steak waiting, alright?"

I smirked.

"Medium-rare, you son of a bitch."

That was the last thing I said to him before he disappeared into the thick. Yeah, part of me knew I'd miss out on that steak, but it was a nice sentiment at least. I followed his lead, running into the forest's edge as the riders disembarked next to the two limbless bastards who dragged us out here in the first place.

"_They went into the forest! They went into the fucking forest! Get-Ah, FUCK! GET AFTER THEM!"_

"You got it – right after we cut our losses."

"… Cut your losses? What do y-_wait! WAI-!"_

The sound of two pistols exploded over the grounded bastards, piercing the silent air as the moon suddenly became swallowed by clouds, followed by a rumbling of thunder. Cutting their losses? Does no one have honour nowadays? These mother fuckers were no different than that fat piece of shit sitting behind the desk at the hideout…

"Wuzzat necessary?" I heard one of 'em say, looking towards the gunmen as they shrugged.

"Eh, more money for us."

That was it – I wasn't gonna let this one slide. If I was gonna die, I was gonna take as many of these cunts with me as I could. I slid Rhaz's dagger into my belt, pulled out my Wing Edge and lined 'em up – nine of the bastards, soon to be seven. I reached back, grunted loud enough to catch their attention and then threw for all I was worth. Lucky too – it started to rain as soon as the weapon left my hands.

"Wait, what wa-"

Apparently, he'd heard me a little too late and I'd aimed a little too well. This fucking Wing Edge sliced through half of the first guy's throat, sawed the head off the guy behind him and finally –my favourite – embedded itself into the sternum of the guy behind him. The force knocked him off his feet, sending him staggering over the edge of the not-so-far-off cliff with a series of painful yelps that were sweet music to my ears. The second guy immediately fell to the floor, somewhere near his head as the group yelled and shouted amongst them. Then, we had the comedian in the group – the first guy I hit. I pursed my lips to keep my laughter dormant as he managed to communicate in fluent, choking gargles.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT! WHAT THE FUCKING _FUCK!?_"

"_BGLURRRRGUUUURGLAEHAR!"_

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!?"

"SIMON'S FUCKING HEAD IS OVER THERE!"

"OVER THERE, BY THE FOREST! FUCKING _SHOOT, YOU IDIOTS, SHOOT!_"

That was the only warning I needed.

I took off into the forest as a hail of bullets decimated the trees behind me. The flock of Chocobo's wailed loudly, startled by the commotion before taking off in all directions, leaving the bastards no way to pursue me except by foot. I shot one last look back, watching the gurgler fall to his knees – drowned in your own blood, what a way to go. I managed to make it deep enough into the forest to hide within the foliage, but short of magically finding a Chocobo in there, I knew I'd never get away unnoticed… or quick enough. The rain only just made it through the treetops as I felt a chilly mist consume me, soon covering me in tiny raindrops as I scrambled away. I hadn't seen where Jayce headed after he took off, but he was smart – he'd be halfway back to Treno by now… hopefully to get what was left of what that fat fuck owed us. Three hundred thousand gil… that would set him and Sarah up for a while… and it was good. For the first time in my life, I felt like I'd actually done something worthwhile. I let a smile form over my lips as I ducked behing a nearby tree, catching my breath and tightening my grip on my good ol' faithful claws and Rhaz' Dagger – heh, old cunt came in handy for something, eh?

I calmed my breathing, placed my back against the tree, and listened…

"… Think he went this way, c'mon!" I heard through the bushes and foliage, hearing the barely audible crunching of grass and forest debris beneath a horde of boots.

'_You bet your faggot ass I went this way, fuckhead…'_

The crunching of forest floor performed a crescendo as they neared my position and I tightened my hold on my weapons, the pain in my shoulder a fast forgotten memory. The anticipation was killing me… and I was ready to start killing right back.

'_C'mon… that's it, just a little closer you fucking piece of-'_

_***Thump!***_

"SHI-mph!"

Sneak attack. God _fucking _damnit…

Before I could tell what the fuck was going on, I found myself pinned to the tree, the rough protruding pieces of bark digging into my back as I came face to face with… with…!

"_Jayce!?"_

The name barely left my mouth in a panicked whisper before Jayce shoved our travel-bags into my hands, releasing his hold on me and smiling. He was still tranced, still had his burning red eyes and hair… and I had no fucking idea why he wasn't halfway to Treno by now. Then, he uttered something to me, something I'd never forget – his last stupid fucking words to me:

"You make sure that the fat fuck remembers us… and look after Sarah, or I _will_ break your face."

White space flooded my mind as his final words rang through my ears – and this would be the last thing he'd ever say to me. Without another word, he flashed one last smile and launched himself towards the nearing grunt.

"WHAT THE-"

_***Snap!***_

The deafening snap of a broken bone brought me to my senses as I suddenly began to hyperventilate. I whipped around the tree, watching Jayce drag the screaming bastard back towards the group as spastic shouting suddenly conquered the pleasant sound of the falling rain.

"_C'MON, THEN! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ASSHOLES WAITING FOR!?"_

Whatever was left of my mind screamed to obey his final words as I watched Jayce – my best friend – throw himself to the wolves… but my body wouldn't let me. _'What the mother of fuck is he DOING!?'_ I thought, '_these guys are gonna fucking tear him apart!'_

"JAYCE!"

"FUCKING _GET_ _GOING, RED!"_

"OVER THERE, HE'S OVER THERE!"

I didn't want to listen. I wanted to go with him - every fibre of my being told me to catch up to him, claws at the ready to hack anything that got close enough straight in half… But all I could do was grit my teeth and follow his final words - exactly what I'd told him to do, the idiot. I closed my eyes, clutched our bags and ran for all I was worth.

"JAYCE! YOU_ FUCKING IDIOT!"_

My words echoed through the forest as I tore through the trees, hearing cries of pain and Jayce's energetic shouting.

"_TAKE CARE OF HER!_"

That was the last thing I remember him saying as I slashed at straying branches, clearing my way through the thick as the triumphant calls were suddenly drowned out by a piercing chorus of shrieks, gunshots and bellows of pain… but I couldn't turn back. I wouldn't insult Jayce by wasting the chance he'd given me… so why did _he_ waste the chance that I gave him?

* * *

_I hope he understands – this sacrifice was mine to make. I copped another pistol whip to my cheekbone – which was becoming harder and harder to feel anymore – as the guy 'in charge' proceeded to play tough. Not that I could put up much of a fight – they'd peppered my arms with bullets and I'd lost… whatever the fuck that power was. Felt great for a while, but I couldn't keep it up. Hah, no way in hell._

"_Bet you think you're a big shot, don't ya? Got a big bounty over your head, so you think you can do whatever you wa-"_

"_Jesus Christ, lemme ask you something," I piped up, interrupting him with a smirk, "how much dick did you hafta suck to land this job? You're about as intimidating as a box of fucking kittens-"_

_Bam, pistol-butt across the face… again. They had to get a new torture tactic, this was really getting old. The worst part about this whole scenario was having to listen to this idiot go on and on… Christ, get him on a roll, eh?_

"'_Bout as much as your sister's gonna suck once we're through with you, wise-guy."_

_Hah, another crack at Sarah – honestly, was that the only weapon they had?_

"_You guys clearly don't know my sister," I said, spitting what felt like a tooth out to my side as the rain began to needle its way into my eyes. "Besides, her boyfriend might not take too kindly to that notion."_

"_Ah, right – your partner. The guys a bloodthirsty idiot - why the fuck did you come back 'n' save his sorry ass?"_

_Hah, these guys really were stupid. A life for a life – don't they know the saying?_

"_He saved my life…" I started, remembering how Amarant had gotten me my first paid gig in months – I had next to nothing going for me… not to mention that he'd stopped Rhaz from bleedin' me as well. Christ, I owed him a lot… suppose this would have to suffice as payback. "… I couldn't call myself his friend if I wasn't willing to do the same."_

_If there was one thing I could give myself, it was that I was smilin' 'till the end. What happened after this didn't matter, because I knew Amarant wouldn't let this go - he'd come back for each and every one of these fucks and do what I wouldn't do: kill 'em. Heh, and he wouldn't do it nicely. I'd never have been able to kill them, even if they'd come after me again… but…_

_At least, this way, I keep my promise to Sarah. I never killed anyone, and I made sure to give her the life that our scumbag father never did … I never went back on my word._

… _All I could do is pray that Amarant wouldn't go back on his. Heh, but I know he won't - I always thought they'd make a decent couple, anyways._

"_How noble. I'll make sure to collect your bounty with a raised fuckin' pinky," came the snide remark from this contemptuous bastard – everything about him reminded me of Rhaz, and if they hadn't shot my arms to fucking Swiss cheese, I'd have mustered the strength to beat the living fuck out of 'em all… but regrets weren't something I liked to have and I certainly wasn't about to make any now. I mustered my very last smirk, raised a brow and spat a mouthful of blood onto this prick's nice black shirt._

"_Gonna hafta pull it outta your boyfriend's asshole first, sweetheart."_

_That was it – my last line, the curtain call. I smiled, accepting the pistols suddenly clicking and loading around me. Not exactly a pretty way to go, but…_

… _at least it'd be quick. Silver lining, eh, Red?_

* * *

The silence was killing me. It'd been at least two whole minutes without a shout, without a gunshot… nothing. I had no idea what was going on, I could see the end of the forest and it was driving me crazy… and then, suddenly, I wished that the silence had remained. The world around me stopped, halting every sound except for my own heartbeat and the clicking of hammers. I almost dropped to the floor, unable to breath from how tight my chest became.

A series of gunshots exploded behind me… and all I could do was shut my eyes, lower my head and run out of the forest.

I didn't stop… I couldn't. If I stopped, I would have turned back towards them, swiping murderously and shouting like a man possessed… and that would paint a target on my head bigger than the boss. It took all of my willpower to keep on running and I didn't stop until I hit the floorboards outside of the hideout. By the time I'd slammed open the doors and made it to the boss' office, he was long gone. The room was clear… but there were eleven thick folders spread across the boss' desk. I eyed them disdainfully, having a good idea about what information they held.

Moving over to the desk as I dropped the bags on the floor, I flipped open each folder and found my assumptions proved true - the profiles of the fuckers he'd hired to take us out, all of us, laid spread across the desk. Under the last folder? A small notepad with the boss' John Hancock on it – the fat fucks ledger. Flipping it open, I noticed it was filled with every crooked deal he'd ever made. Can't say I was too proud at how many times my name showed up, but what struck me the most was when I got to the last page… and found a checklist. A mother-fucking checklist with, amongst others that I didn't know or care for, Rookie, Kaol, Jack, Cam… then Jayce and… me, all with our bounties beside our names. I punched a fist to the desk as I turned towards the weapons cabinet – or the fucking 'Trophy Cabinet', as _he_ called it. I tore the doors open and felt my stomach twist into a less-than-comforting knot. It was all there – Rookie's whip, Jack's daggers, Kaol's spear… even Cam's axe. Pictures, addresses… he'd claimed them all. I'll admit, I was cold-hearted… but this was the work of a fucking monster. These poor bastards – my friends – had shown him nothing but loyalty… and he paid us back by collecting our fucking bounties… and he'd strung Jayce and I along 'till the end. Me and my goddamn partner 'till the mother-fucking end. 'All that was left', he said…

Hell was too good for this cunt, but I was more than willing to send him. More than willing. Yeah, we were hired guns… but we didn't fucking deserve this… none of it.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Jayce…"

I closed my eyes and slammed my fist against a wooden wall of the office, wishing the pine-wood finish was that fat cunts fucking face. I wasn't mad, I was fucking furious – furious that he'd betrayed us, furious that he'd sold us out… furious that I'd lost my best fucking friend over a bounty! WHY THE FUCK DID WE EVEN _TAKE_ THAT MISSION!?

… But I had to calm down. This wasn't the time to have a fucking tantrum; it was the time for planning. Ripping a paper and pen outta the boss' desk, I jotted down the addresses of each of his cronies. I wouldn't let this go. Not until they were all dead…

All of them.

I collected nothing except for my final payment – and seven bricks worth of envelopes in the bottom drawers. The more the boss had thought I'd fled, the safer Sarah would be. I stuffed the money into my bags and headed for the last stop – my 'home', if you could fucking call it that. I burst through my door – no one there, thank God, except for two bottles of thirty-five year old whiskey on the small wooden table. Fuck me, it shouldn't have, but seeing those two bottles standing side by side almost brought me to fucking tears right then and there… but I was running on borrowed time. I walked over to the bottles, placed them in Jayce's bag and swung it over my shoulder. I took every weapon I had available, every scrap of gil that I'd saved, every bit of clothing… I emptied the place and managed to stuff it all into two decent-sized carry bags.

There was nothing left for me in this town except bad memories and worse people. With a wince, I bade farewell to the rundown shack and closed my door for the last time, tearing down the piers of the slums. I wouldn't allow myself to look back – I would have tried to burn the fuckin' place down.

* * *

After gathering what was left of my life, I snuck onto the next airship leaving for Lindblum. The rain didn't exactly make for easy travelling, but friends don't make promises unless they keep them – you taught me that, Jayce, and this promise was huge. I had no idea how I was going to break the news, and I _still_ hate you for that – what kinda shit is that to throw onto someone, let alone your supposed 'best friend'? But, before I knew it, I'd arrived at Jayce's place, soaking wet and wishing I wasn't there, wishing this whole scenario was just a bad dream… and before I'd even knocked on the door, it'd swung open, revealing the heaviest eyes I'd ever seen. The look on Sarah's face told me she knew – I didn't even have to say anything and she fucking _knew_. The cunts had taken her brother – the only family she had left – and now, all she had was… me. That's not fair – that's not fucking fair at all. I'm hardly a good person as is – having to replace Jayce?

But… I didn't have a choice, and I wasn't about to leave her alone. I'd promised Jayce – I'd take care of Sarah until they were all dead – all of them. The moment my bags hit the floor, Sarah was reduced to hysterics. She flung herself towards me as the storm raged outside…

And all I could do was hold her. Her tears hit me harder than the bullet to the shoulder. God help me, if seeing the two whiskey bottles at my place had almost started me off then I had no chance here. Bracing Sarah against me as she practically buried her head in my chest, I allowed only a few small tears to fall as I gritted my teeth – the only time in my life I can ever truly remember crying.

… I'd blame it on the rain, but only Sarah and I would ever know the truth. Jayce was gone, but this was far from over. I wasn't about to let him go unavenged… even if it revealed to Sarah what I was – a killer, just like her old man. I'd watch over her forever if that's what it took… and it was at that time that my eyes narrowed in absolute anger and determination. I turned to my bag, remembering the addresses scrawled on the paper inside.

I was going to end this… and I was going to start now.


	6. Loose Ends

It didn't take long at all after I'd stepped into the house to tell Sarah what had happened. After reaching into the early hours of the morning, she'd found herself asleep on the couch, right beside me. I'd stayed up the whole night and watched over her. She'd asked me to stay with her and, after I'd just divulged what I did for a living, that was the last thing that I'd expected…

* * *

"… _I know."_

_I almost choked right then and there._

"… _you what?"_

"_Jayce… he told me after I... I-I…"_

_She shifted uncomfortably and I immediately knew she wasn't willing to talk on the subject, so I waved it off with a hand as I began to organise my bags._

"_Forget about it. Look, I… I'm not gonna stay long, but I promised Jayce that… that I'd look out for you."_

_I turned to her for a moment as she remained silent, leaning against the wall of the kitchen before I returned to packing._

"… _I know it's gonna be hard, but you should try to get some sleep-"_

"_You're going to kill them, aren't you?"_

_The remark surprised me at first, but what surprised me more was what followed after I answered. I began to pack my bag with everything I'd need – addresses, claws… both of ours…_

"… _You aren't gonna be safe as long as they're breathing, Sarah," I began, filling my bag with whatever remained as I stood. "If it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna take down the remaining six of these fuckers. This was what Jayce wanted me to do, I know it, and I'm not gonna let his sacrifice-"_

"_Please… please d-don't…"_

_I pinched my eyes closed. I didn't want her afraid of me, but this is what I had to do to keep her safe – I had to kill 'em all and after an image of Jayce flashed in front of my eyes… I wasn't about to listen to any objections._

"_Sarah, there's no other choice - this is the way it has to-"_

"_D-don't leave me… n-not tonight…"_

_Wide-eyed, I turned to her just as she collided with me, arms flung around my waist and head against my chest._

"_I… I-I don't wanna be l-left alone… not anymore…"_

* * *

I closed my eyes and waited for the memory to pass. I'd stayed with Sarah for the past three months… and I was grateful for that. She'd found out that I was a killer and it didn't faze her. She said, and I quote, "you're still 'you', Amarant"… but I knew that that was far from the case. She had no one else to trust; it was either me or squat… so I led myself to believe that she was just making the best of a bad situation, and _trust_ me – I'm a fucking _terrible_ situation on a good day. Either way, it helped me keep my 'promise' to Jayce – to keep Sarah safe – as I hunted the remaining six bastards down. One by one, I finished them off, granting them a ghost of the 'crimson-haired beast' that they'd dealt with on that awful night… and it was finally time for the last one – lucky fucking seven, who I'd finally found lurking around without his precious guards.

Three months, it took me… three long months.

I watched him walk along the thin isle towards the auction house, not a fucking care in the world. I'll bet he didn't lose a wink of sleep over what happened to us, to Jayce… _or_ any of his hired guns, once I was through with them. He would have been happy just to have nobody to pay – but that was about to change. Fuck me, was that about to change…

I leapt off the building top, landing behind him, silent as a shadow. After leering the form of his tacky 'noble' attire, I quickly caught up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"S'cuse me, sir…"

I barely gave him time to meet my eyes as I reached back as far as I could. The moment his fat, ugly face moved to respond, I brought my fist to a clean, broad target right in the middle of his face. Almost killed him right then and there, but the crunching beneath my knuckles was so satisfying, I honestly would have been ok with it…

But that wasn't how I was gonna let this cunt get away, not by a long shot.

* * *

"…nngh, ugh, wha-_UGH FUCK!"_

I watched him fumble about from behind the desk with the bag on his head, trying to reach his face and not realising that I'd fastened the ties around his fat neck. He almost fell off his chair, dumb fuck.

"Jesus fucking Christ, my _fucking nose!_ Oh, fu-"

"Welcome back, boss."

I swear I heard him shit his pants upon hearing my voice. The bag I'd placed over his head left as much to his imagination as I'd thought, and I had to try my hardest not to laugh as he darted his lumpy visage around the place, holding his hands out as though he'd fall at any second.

"Wh-who's there? I-I demand to kn-know! I'll h-have the authorities on you i-in-"

"You can cut the noble bullshit. I know you better than that."

I cut him off and placed my carry-bag loudly onto the floor beside his desk. I ripped the bag off of his head, watching as he quickly placed hands to his crooked and bloodied nose – the most satisfying work of art I'd ever created. His eyes soon focused, darting around the room before finally pausing at mine.

"Been a while, eh?"

I watched the look on his face turn to absolute horror as his breathing quickened. He didn't waste any time in trying to cover his tracks – a pathetic attempt, really. There was blood all over his books… and I'd be the last person to ever suffer from it.

"R-Red! Christ, I'd b-been wondering what h-had-"

"Save the bullshit, you backstabbing cunt."

Immediately wiping the fake smile off his fat chops, he returned to his look of horror as I motioned around the room.

"You like what I've done with the place, boss?" I continued, walking around the office as he followed my every move. "I've cleaned up a little, y'know, after you sold us out – took out all the weapons, all the files, the guns… just left the whiskey where it should be. Not bad, eh? Even managed to get past the guards that you'd sanctioned here and _that_, mind you, took a bit of work-"

"Look, I-I know it looks bad, Red, b-but I can make it up to you," he snivelled. Fucking still trying to save his fat ass – should've known that it wasn't going to work. "Wh-whatever bounty you've got going on you, I-I'll erase it. Yeah, yeah! Y-you wanna payout? I'll double everything you earned in all those jobs you d-did for-"

"That whiskey you gave us – me 'n' Jayce – that was thirty-five years, wasn't it?"

I interrupted him, having made my way over to the cabinet of his finest booze and opened the door, still safely tucked away from wanting hands as he followed my movements.

"Y-yeah, that's ri-"

"Never even got to share a glass with him - did you know that?"

I disinterestedly pulled a bottle from atop the shelf, pondered over it and then threw it across the room, smashing it across the doorway as the boss winced.

"Did you _fucking_ hear me? Me, Jayce 'n' Sarah… we were supposed to all sit down and enjoy it – share a drink and celebrate a new start, maybe some new, honest work for a change, instead of waiting on orders from sleazy fucks like you… but we never got to do that, because you couldn't help but notice how heavy our bounties were – clearly worth more than a life, right? Clearly worth more than _Jayce's life, RIGHT!?_"

I slammed the cabinet shut, shattering the glass on the cabinet doors and turning to the cowering lump. He was pathetic… and I was going to enjoy sending him into his second retirement.

"Clearly," I continued, crunching over the shattered glass as I made my way to the weapons cabinet, almost ripping the doors off their hinges, "worth more than-"

I tossed Rookie's whip to the floor…

"-Rookie's-"

… followed by Jack's daggers…

"-Jack's-"

… then Kaol's spear…

"-Kaol's-"

… and finally, I slammed Cam's axe through the wooden wall with a furious bellow, returning to the boss and meeting his quivering eyes.

"-even Cam's life… right, _boss?_"

His breathing quickened as he swallowed loudly, darting towards the weapons strewn about the small room as I turned back towards the cabinet.

"I-I-I kept those weapons a-and pictures there s-so I'd never g-go back! I k-kept them t-to remind me of wh-what I'd done-"

"Oh, so _noble,_ but don't worry," I cut in apathetically, once again silencing him as he trembled in his chair. "Once I'm done with you, I'm sure _they _will all be more than happy to remind you of what you did to them – after all, we're all going to the same place, right?"

I met his eyes with a laugh as I placed a hand to the opened cabinet doors, grunting disinterestedly.

"I've taken everything that you collected, by the way, including that ledger of yours," I said, closing the door to the bastard's 'Trophy Cabinet' and motioning to his desk. "Go ahead, check the drawers – they're all empty."

The boss' eyes snapped wide open as he released a staggered few wheezing breaths. Darting to the desk in a panic, he began opening his entire desk, pulling open drawer after draw as I made my way to the front of his desk.

"Every deal, every bit of gil," I began, coming to a stop at his desk beside my bag as he darted frantically towards me, "every profile is mine. All of it. It's a damn shame you put all your eggs in one basket, big guy."

As I shook my head mockingly, a sudden smile formed across the boss' lips as he locked his eyes with mine.

"Guess it's _also_ a damn shame that you didn't know where I kept _this_."

I watched as the boss pulled his signature pistol out from underneath his desk. I raised my brows at the sight, reminded of the finesse that was his gold-trimmed, oak-finished pistol – the gutless wonder's pride and joy – as he slowly rose from his seat.

"Guess you didn't clean up too well, Red," he gloated, pointing the pistol straight for my head as I remained steadfast to my position and folded my arms.

"Guess not," was honestly all I could come up with, although I had to admit, I saw it coming.

"Heh, always with the rash decisions, big guy, but tell you what – I can let this one slide, eh?" he started, seeing himself having quite the upper hand. Heh, let the bargaining begin. "You give me back all my documents, including my ledger, forget this whole little escapade and I won't shoot you where you fucking stand. You can live to see another day, unlike your friends - how's that s-"

"Suck my dick, you shit-kicking, pencil-pushing, fat-ass, mother-fucking noble," I replied, placing my hands to his desk and butting my head against the barrel of the outstretched pistol, "how's _that_ sound?"

The boss smiled, thumbing back the hammer. Suppose, some would say that I expected this…

"At least you made it easy for me, Red."

_***Click!***_

… and those people would be right. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a packet of his custom-made bullets – the very ones he kept in the secret compartment underneath his desk - as he clicked the pistol again and again, desperately trying to find a shot. All beef, no brains.

"Did I, now? Well then…"

I placed the ammo on the desk, opposite the boss as I reached downwards and opened my bag, threading my fingers into Jayce's claws' grip.

"… guess I'll have to make it a bit harder for you."

As I watched him reach desperately towards the ammunition, I quickly produced the glistening blue claws from my bag and slammed them into the back of his outstretched hand, piercing through his fat extremity and the desk like they were made of butter. The symphony of cracking, stomping and blubbering that followed danced across my ears as I watched his fat face fling backwards, wrenching his mouth open and releasing the loudest scream I'd ever heard come outta someone's mouth.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUGHAAAAAHAAAAAA AAAH! Wh-what the FUUUUUHUUHUUCK! AMARANT, Y-YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH-"

"Oh, no, boss - that was from Jayce. He asked me to make sure that you remembered him…"

As he blubbered about, desperately trying to tug his pinned hand from Jayce's claws, I smiled maliciously and returned to my bag, pulling out Rhaz's Dagger – my own personal trophy. Lifting it from the bag as his pistol suddenly dropped over the desk, I returned to him as he desperately tugged at Jayce's claws, attempting to lift them out of the desk as blood seeped through the wide wounds. Jayce, you'd done me proud.

"… And I'm sure Rhaz would've wanted to make his point."

I took his hand from the claws, wrenching it over to the other side of the desk as I slammed Rhaz's dagger through his palm. Watching his spastic trembling as he blubbered out tears of pain, I watched as his eyes filled with fiery tears, swelling with red as he screamed like a man possessed.

"A-A-A-A-AM-M-MAR-ANT! AAAAAHAHAAHAAAAARRRRH! F-F-FAAAHHUCKING STOOOOHOOP IT, PLEEEHEHEASE!" he babbled, tears, blood and snot falling from his fat face. I bent down and picked up his pistol, slamming it onto the desk between his two outstretched and incredibly ragged limbs.

"What, have I made it too hard now?" I asked, picking up the box of ammunition and placing it under his bloody fingers as I slid the gun over to his opposite hand. "How's that then – easy enough for you?"

A cruel smile passed over my lips as I watched his face contort, savouring every last moment of his pain as I returned to my bag. I heard a violent bought of vomit leave his mouth as I lifted my bag away from the desk – I'm not gonna get my work things dirty now, am I?

"Well, boss, now that I have your attention, I've got a little something to show you."

I pulled the profiles of his hired guns – one of which held great promise to him – out of my bag, each folder identical to the day I saw them.

"Your special list of mercs – the guys who did us all in… you wanna know what happened to them?"

The hyperventilating mess raised his fat head to me, barely able to open his eyes as he warbled from behind his desk.

"WH-WHAT K-K-KINDA S-SICK FUCK AAAAAARE YOUUUUUU?!" he bawled, still attempting to rip his hands outta their respective holders. I waved the folders about as I neared the desk, looking at the mess of puke, snot and blood covering his desk – 'nuff to make any man hungry, eesh.

"The kinda sick fuck that you don't fucking provoke."

I slapped the first two profiles down onto his desk.

"Your own goons took care of Charlie and Gerry. Shot 'em as Jayce and I were trying to escape."

Nothing but more gurgled cries of mercy. I smirked, throwing another two profiles down.

"Benny and Rodney – they were easy to find. Y'see, before your boys killed him, Jayce had broken Benny's arm. Rodney was the one to take him to the hospital – in Lindblum. I sedated the pricks after following them back to their Inn 'n' dragged them both to Popo's Heights. Took a seat on the mountains and watched 'em wake up just in time for the Grand Dragon's to tear 'em to pieces."

The boss managed to spit onto the profiles, continuing to wail as I threw another three in front of him.

"Simon, Erik and 'Fingers' Faddoul – offed them with a Wing Edge the very night you sent us to our deaths. Fingers took a while to die – missed his head, y'see," –I made a motion towards my jugular vein- "only managed to slice halfway through."

"OHHOOH, FUCK-KING STOOOHOP IT AH-ALREADY!" he cried from behind the desk, flailing about and severing his hands even further. I snorted and shook my head.

"Stop, huh?"

I grabbed the end of Rhaz's knife and pushed it towards the boss, slicing his hand practically in half from the middle of his palm to the middle of his forearm. Another wail of sound as he blubbered on… I began to think I was enjoying this a little too much… heh, of course I was.

"I haven't even gotten to the _good_ part yet."

I slapped the next three profiles across his face before throwing them onto the pile of blood and puke.

"Ray, Sip and Daryl – drowned Ray in his bathtub, pushed Sip off a rooftop in Lindblum – he was the only one stupid enough to try 'n' have a go at Sarah-"

I voiced a sound akin to crunching bones as I pressed my hands together, watching the boss meet my eyes with fear – I could tell he was wondering what I had in store for him… and it was fucking delicious.

"-folded like an accordion - snapped his neck, spine… just about everything. Y'know the sound you get when you snap a bundle of sticks in half?"

"BWAHAHHAAAAAARGH!"

"Heh, yeah you do – and now, we come to Daryl. He was fun."

The boss squirmed distastefully. Daryl must have been one of his favourites… or it might have been the pain. Nuance.

"He didn't recognise me at first – just thought I was another face in the crowd. Soon as the claws came out, though, he bolted. Followed him to his resting place – Alexandria castle. Offed him just like Rhaz – scared him out to the piers, beat the shit outta him and sent him up the river with a stab-wound to the throat. Oh, by the way-"

I pulled out the Silver Pendant of the Alexandrian princess from my bag – the jewel that he got Jack to swipe over a year ago.

"-I'm collecting the return from this after we're done here."

With a hefty spit towards me (which I managed to dodge), the boss gurgled another response. Could barely understand him anymore, but I paid no heed as I returned the pendant to the bag.

"However, let's get to number one-"

This one I knew held promise – the cunt that shot Jayce at point blank range.

"-Nathaniel Jefferson – your successor, right boss?"

I slapped the last folder down onto the desk, shoving it towards the fat cunt. He met my eyes as violently as he could, still trying to struggle out of the weapons thrust through his hands.

"Most boring prick I ever killed. Gutted him like a pig in his own home - didn't even put up a fight."

"H-he f-f-fucking thought h-he DESERVED TO DIE A-AFTER WHAT HE D-DID, YOU ARROGANT F-FUCK!"

"Good," I spat before walking over to boys' weapons strewn about the room, "because he did. He deserved to be strung up and strangled by his guts! ALL OF THEM DID… and now, it's your turn."

I made my way to Rookie's whip, picking it up and whirling it around a little as I heard the boss' panicked breaths. I turned to him as I pulled the length downwards, filling the room with the resounding crack as he winced behind the desk.

"N-N-No, R-Red! C-C-C-C'MON, W-WE CAN T-TALK ABOUT THIS-"

"Compliments of Stephen Rooks."

I swept the length behind me and threw it forward as hard as I could. Three cracks on the fat fucks face – I'm sure it drove the message home, or at least the way he screamed made it seem that way. I rolled the now-bloody whip into a circle, pushing it into my bag as I turned to the next on the list – Jack. I returned to the weapons, picked up his daggers and flipped them around in my hands as I returned to the desk.

"Best wishes of Jack Callous."

A swipe from each dagger had the bastard's fingers from his hands. Jack woulda been proud of that. I flicked the blood off the daggers as the boss writhed and squirmed, squeaking out muffled cries of agony, barely any voice left. I slid the daggers into the bag, returning again to the weapons as I found Kaol's sturdy spear – now _this_ was a work of art. I picked it up and pushed it out towards my side, watching its silvery length glisten in the dim lighting.

"Almost a shame to get this spear dirty, but-"

I turned to the boss as he blubbered, flickering his eyes towards me as the blood loss finally started to get to him.

"-knowing Kaol Suarez, he would've wanted to say goodbye."

I eased the three spokes of the spear slowly into the boss' shoulder as he quivered violently. Another gurgled cry left his swollen mouth, but it wasn't till I felt the spear touch the back of his chair that I pulled it out. What a shame – his lovely, rich clothing was now covered in shit, puke and blood… but I digress. Back to the 'point'.

"And let's not forget your right hand man, Cameron Dennings."

I rested the spear beside my bag and proceeded to collect the final 'trophy' – Cam's giant, single-sided battle-axe. If Kaol's spear was a work of art, _this_ was the fucking precipice. I lifted the heavy weapon and turned to the boss, dragging it a minute distance before I slung it over my shoulder. The boss followed me with his eyes, spastically twitching as blood ran in rivers from his hands, shoulder and nose. I paused to his right as I tapped my fingers along the axe's grip and placed a hand to the boss' head, forcing his gaze to his punctured extremity.

"I figure it's only right to give him what he earned – your right hand."

"No, no! _No, NO, NO, NO, RED P-PLEASE D-D-DON'T-_"

I swung the heavy weapon down as harshly as I could… and the feeling of the axe slamming half-way through the desk, the cries of agony and irony… it was beautiful. I don't hold pride for my actions easily… but the way I was going about this needlessly gory, traumatising kill? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the proudest moment of my life – and everyone got a piece of the boss, _that_ I made sure of. The boss' cries began to dwindle to coarse wheezes as I released his head and wrenched the axe outta the desk with a loud, creaking crack. I watched him slap his bloody, severed limb across the desk, covering the folders and Rhaz's dagger in a thick coating of blood. Making the final trip to my bag, I swiped the boss' pistol and ammunition from the desk, twirling the gun in my fingers before carefully placing the ammunition and pistol into the bag. I laid Cam's bloodied axe beside Kaol's spear as I turned to my bag once more, opening the flap for the last time.

"Which only leaves one more."

I reached into my bag, pulled out my signature blood-red claws and threaded my fingers through the grip. I turned to the boss as he just managed one eye open, bloodied and beaten, brought down to our level. This was exactly the way I wanted it – I wanted him to know he'd been beaten. Not just by me, but by Jayce, by Cam… all of us. We weren't the spitting image of perfect living, but we were worth more than what he sold us out for. I admired the blood across my vest as I returned my eyes to the boss, walking to the front of his desk and stabbing my claws through the centre of the table.

"Amarant Coral's two weeks' notice… and one more 'fuck you' from my partner as well."

I grabbed Jayce's claws and pulled them towards me, ripping them outta the desk and freeing his other hand. I watched gleefully as the boss attempted to move, jiggling around in his high-backed chair as though he was stuck to it. After another bout of gurgled, wheezing shoutings, the boss finally became still, leaning back breathlessly against his chair as he slowly met my eyes. I'd played it out long enough. I couldn't have done it without him… but I'd finished what I knew Jayce couldn't. I pulled my claws up to my eye level and voiced the last thing he'd ever hear:

"Thanks for the memories."

Before I'd even realised I'd pushed forward, my claws pierced through the hardened back of his chair. That last, piercing gurgled scream would remain burned into my subconscious forever.

* * *

"… and this is his ledger?"

"Every crooked deal he ever made."

I'd collected the bloodied weapons, my bags and a few choice bottles of whiskey before leaving the bloody scene. I gently opened the door to the outside, turning to the two security guards – both of whom were still unconscious. Ya fuckin' happy now, Jayce? I learnt how to _not _kill someone… heh. Grabbing the closest one and slapping him awake, he blinked loudly and voiced some kind of response before I placed a finger to my lips. The blood across my vest, the weapons across my back and the look in my eyes was enough to keep him silent. All I needed was an address… and that didn't take much convincing.

"I hardly see this as a surrendering, Mister Coral… just what are you playing at, exactly?"

"… I'm just keeping a promise."

I'd followed the address to the fat bastard's house – pfft, already decked out with everything he could have ever wanted… but there was only one thing I needed. I found his safe, busted it open and emptied the contents into a second, larger bag. I pocketed enough to keep me going for another few months, but what remained would keep Sarah going for the rest of her life. Promise well kept, methinks.

"And his subordinates?"

"Deceased. You'll hafta wipe 'em off, but their profiles are all over his desk."

The rain echoed loudly throughout the halls of Lindblum Castle. I watched the Regent stand perfectly still, closing the ledger and turning to the large square windows that overlooked his beloved regency. After what seemed to be an age of silence, I pushed myself from the pearl-white walls and curled my fingers around the straps of my bags.

"Just make sure that everyone gets paid what they deserve."

Lifting my bags over my shoulder, I turned from the Regent and made my way towards the large, grandiose doors of the palace, ready to take my leave before his regal tone echoed through the hall.

"You do realise that your own criminal record still remains?" he began as I pulled the large door open. "Although he was one of the most wanted hoarders in both Treno and Lindblum, turning him in does not resolve you. One good deed cannot cleanse the superfluous blood from your hands."

I paused for a moment, leaving my hand on the golden door handle as I kept my eyes forward.

"… I know that, but I've got a clear conscience and a blank ledger. I don't want anything else."

I almost felt the Regent nod as he turned from the giant windows beside his throne.

"So," he began, making his way down the regal steps to the end of the large table in the middle of the throne room, "where will you go from here?"

That was a stupid question. After everything that I'd been through over the past few months, there was only one place I was headed. I raised my eyes as a smile formed across my face.

"… I'm going on a vacation."

I closed the doors behind me and made my way out of the castle.

… Only one more stop I needed to make.


	7. The Last Stop

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

I didn't hear her wake up. Come to think of it, I didn't even know if she was asleep. After I returned to Jayce's for what I knew would be the last time, I'd placed over seven million gil in a bag beside the bedroom door – the majority of what the boss kept in his safe – left a single red-striped carnation on the dining table and silently collected my belongings. I was going to leave without a sound, without a distraction… with _nothing_ holding me back… but before I could even make it off the fucking floor, there she was – thick, dark skirt, cream winter boots, a pale shirt and a sapphire blue evening gown - standing in the entry of the hallway and providing one hell of a fucking distraction.

"I've kept my promise, Sarah," I replied, zipping the last bag closed as I kept my eyes to the floor – I couldn't chance turning back to her. Not now. "There's enough gil in that bag to last you until the day you die-"

"Is that all I was to you?" she cut in as I heard a quick patter of footsteps hasten towards me. "Just a promise that you made to Jayce-?"

"I didn't make the promise – Jayce is the one who asked," I cut in, quickly silencing her as I did my best to ignore the angelic ringing in my ears. "He did it right before he died, so I didn't get a chance to say 'no'. That's all this was – a promise that I _had _to keep."

I hooked my two bags over my shoulder as I stood, immediately sighting and, almost instantly, dropping my gaze from Sarah's painting above the duchess. I couldn't face the picture – the last happy memory I could remember – so I shook off the thought with a hollow breath.

"You're safe now, that's what counts – so I'm gonna leave and you're gonna forget about me."

Sarah's short response tore a burning pain right through me – and I'd once thought myself steeled of my emotions… pfft, fuckin' Jayce.

"… N-no."

"Wasn't asking," I replied, faster than I'd originally wanted to, but the less she thought she meant to me, the quicker she'd get on with her life… I wasn't having _two_ lost lives on my conscience. I turned from the table to the entry, crunching my hands over the straps of my bag as I stupidly paused on the fucking bookcase – pictures and drawings of Jayce, of Sarah… of me. All of us.

I wrenched my gaze from the bookcase with a grunt, praying Sarah wouldn't notice the pause as I fixated my eyes on the front door.

"There's no one else after you," I continued, readjusting the strap of my bag over my shoulder as gentle footsteps passed silently across the floorboards. "You're safe, my promise is kept and that's-"

"Tell me that I was just a promise, then."

… Fuck. I couldn't take much more of this. Every syllable she uttered was another turn of the fucking knife and the proverbial blade was already creeping through my ribs. I cringed and clenched my jaw – how much fucking harder was she gonna make this?

"_Tell me_," she repeated, suddenly losing every inch of sincerity from her voice, "that I was just a promise."

… Apparently, she was going to make it _a lot _fucking harder…

A proverbial bowling ball slid down my fucking throat. Nevertheless, I shifted it downwards and mumbled.

"You were just a-"

"To my goddamn _face_, Amarant."

Her voice was low and serious – the first time I'd heard anything reminiscent of authority and anger escape her lips. I gritted my teeth as I heard more footsteps.

"Sarah, for fucks sake-"

"You can't do it, can you!?"

I felt her hands latch onto my arm as she forced me around to face her. I met her eyes, immediately wishing I hadn't, as tears fell… no, fucking _streamed_ from her pale cheeks.

"CAN YOU!?"

I couldn't do it anymore. I'd lost the act… which was good because I was sick of pretending, but completely and utterly fucked because I knew, this way, there was no turning back – I'd break her heart.

"No. No, I can't, alright? I _can't_ tell you that you were just a promise because you fucking _weren't!_ Are you _happy_ now? Is that what you wanted to hear!?"

"YES, YOU IDIOT!" she immediately replied, wrapping her arms around me and burying her face in my chest. Jesus… I could devote my life to studying it and _still _never understand what the fuck goes through women's minds. I didn't have time to react before she'd recoiled from me and, to my absolute surprise, flung her arms around my neck, closed her tearing eyes… and pushed her lips onto mine.

That was it. That was exactly what I _didn't _want to happen, but Christ knows how much I wanted it as well. I lost any remaining inhibitions as my hands swung from my bags and pressed against the small of her back and shoulder, pulling her towards me like I'd never have her again… because honestly, I knew I wouldn't. Call it being selfish, but I wanted to remember this for the rest of my goddamn life.

Sarah hesitantly broke from me, brushing a shaking hand across my cheek as she shook her head.

"Don't go… please. Just…" she started, floundering for words – the bargaining stage. "… just take the gil back, take all that crap away and just… just stay. W-we can start somewhere new, somewhere-"

"Sarah, we can't do that…"

"-like Treno! H-he's not there anymore, n-none of them are-"

"Sarah, it's not gonna work-"

"-and it'd be a f-fresh start, just y-you and-"

"Sarah!" I shouted, halting her words as I clasped my hands over hers and pulled them from me. "It's not going to happen!"

I realise now that I shouldn't have said that. I was throwing away any chance I had at happiness ever again. I'd never find another Sarah and _she'd_ never get over me, not unless I gave her a reason to hate me… which I tried my fucking hardest to talk myself into doing. She didn't react beyond blinking the tears from her eyes for what seemed like an eternity before she pushed another bullet through me.

"… Wh-why…?"

Jesus Christ – I can kill people at the drop of a hat. Leaving them? Clearly, I needed more fucking practice. 'Scuse me while I beat my head against a fucking brick wall…

"Because… I kill people, Sarah," I stupidly retorted, trying to find any excuse I could… and if comparing me to her old man was all I could find… "It's the only thing I'm good at – fighting. I can't promise you a peaceful morning – Jesus, I can't promise you anything! What in God's name does a future with me hold!? _NOTHING!_ Why can't you see that!?"

I had no idea then, but it was a huge mistake – that last sentence was a fucking _huge _mistake. I wish, to this day, that she hadn't responded to that question – it was rhetorical, anyway! You don't fucking answer rhetorical questions… but before I'd any time at all to collect my thoughts, the next four words smacked me in the face, harder and more painful than a full-on right cross from Jayce.

"… because I love you."

God.

Fucking.

Damnit.

Air filled my head as a shudder claimed my spine - I wanted to smack a palm to my head. I wanted to sigh and pinch two fingers to the bridge of my nose. I wanted to groan and bitch and moan and whinge and yell at the top of my goddamn, mother fucking lungs… But, most of all, I wanted to tell her the truth – that she'd taken the words right outta my stupid mouth… why the fuck did she have to say that?

"Amarant… I love you…"

"… I heard."

"… and I know you love me, too… otherwise you wouldn't have to try so hard to convince yourself to leave…"

Sarah bowed her head, leaning onto my sternum as her hands pressed against my vest.

"… so stop fighting it. For once in your life, _stop fighting…_"

I froze as her words pierced through me. I honestly don't think I've _ever_ heard those two words in succession… but I couldn't agree with her, and I knew that if I stayed, the fighting would never stop. My enemies would become _our_ enemies. My problems would become _our_ problems. No matter which way I penned this, I'd be fighting for the rest of my life. She was right already – I was fighting to leave her, but I wouldn't let her keep running for the rest of her life. As long as I was in the picture, she'd never be safe.

"Sarah… this can't happen. You have a normal life ahead of you – a proper life-"

"I don't have a proper life without you-"

"I'm not what you're looking for-"

"And who are you to make that decision, huh?"

She threw back her head as I locked a gaze with her, feeling her palms press firmly against me as she pleadingly stared. I listened to everything that her eyes were trying to say. I heard her and I knew that I'd never find another woman like her again… but I wasn't going to stay. I closed my eyes and took her hands within mine, lifting them from my chest.

"Someone who knows enough to realise how stupid that decision is."

"Then _let me make_ that stupid decision."

I paused as she closed her eyes, curling her lips as she bowed her head. I watched her hair fall off her shoulders, seeming to droop with the grief and sadness that cloaked the owner.

"For God's sake, Amarant, you're all I have left. They… they've taken Jayce from me - the only family I had… don't make me lose you as well."

I almost choked then and there. If I hadn't lifted my bags over my shoulder and turned away, I would have stayed, but I was nowhere near enough of a cunt to allow that to happen. So… I closed my eyes and lied.

"You can't lose what you don't have in the first place."

Pin drop. Fucking Christ almighty… if walking away from Sarah wasn't enough to make me wanna kill myself, the silence that followed almost drove me fucking insane. I blinked as I fixated an unyielding gaze on the door, bowing my head as the floorboards creaked beneath me.

"… Goodbye, Sarah."

It was done. I'd broken her and managed to shatter myself in the fucking process. This wasn't like me – this wasn't like me at all. How can one person turn you into such a fucking mess? Pah, but it didn't matter anymore. It was over. I'd be forgotten as soon as I walked out that door and she'd finally have a chance at a normal life. Least, that's what I thought, until my fingers latched onto the stupid fucking door handle.

"… Then I'll wait."

I paused at the door as ice snapped through my spine. Unable to find the will to argue as the words rung loudly in my ears, my grip on the door slackened only for a second before my eyes flickered about the entrance. Even though I couldn't see her, I knew she was staring at me with those beautiful eyes of hers… I could only imagine the tears.

"If… if I can't have you now, then I'll w-wait until I can."

I only slightly turned my head and ducked my eyes to the side – I wouldn't allow myself to see her. Hearing her was bad enough, and fuck me - if angels could sing…

"Every day that the sun sets, I-I'll wait at the beach East of C-Cleyra until you come back f-for me – and th-that's my promise."

I knew she'd keep that promise. That was Sarah to a "T" – once she'd set her mind on something, it was hers, no matter what. Nothing would stop her from waiting for me. She'd wait years if that's what it took, but I didn't want her to. I wasn't worth shit compared to her, compared to Jayce…

… So I tightened my grip on the handle, opened the door, uttered my last words to her and left without a single backwards glance.

"… When I deserve you, I'll meet you there."

The rain did little to slow my progress as I ran for all I was worth. I didn't spare a lasting glance towards her – I couldn't. I'd never have left - matter of fact, I'd _still_ be there. We might have lived a happy life together; I could have protected her easily, we could have been alright…

But that wasn't my life to live, nor was that Sarah's burden to carry, so I ran.

I ran from Lindblum. I had no idea where I was going, but anywhere with a paying job would suffice – and it wasn't long before they showed up. I made my way from town to town, living and working here and there over the next few years in hiding - in cognito - doing what I did best and making more than enough money from it. I never took another partner – why fix what isn't broken? – and I found another place in Treno – still just a run-down piece of shit in the slums, but cheap, low maintenance… it did the job. After I'd sorted everything out, I even constructed a hidden section for all of the boys' weapons – Rookie's whip, Jack's daggers, Kaol's spear, Cam's axe… but Jayce's claws stayed with me. Every mission, just like… just like old times. Everything was back to normal – just how I remembered it.

There was only one part that was missing… and one part that would always be missed.

As the years dragged on, I still made good on the promise to myself and visited the beach to the east of Cleyra every day that the sun set – even on days it didn't – and, without fail, she was there. Always - billowing dresses most days, sometimes she'd take one of Jayce's old coats… sometimes she was covered head to tail, but no other woman walked like her – I could have spotted her a mile away, even under the thick blanket of cloaks. She cried almost every time – not audibly, but the tears shining down her cheeks could have been spotted from the Outer Continent. There wasn't a day that passed that I didn't want to run out to her. If she'd have turned around once or twice, I would have had no choice. There were times that I was practically two feet behind her, trying to gather up the scarce remaining brain power I had to initiate a conversation…

But I'd always turn away, leaving everything the way it was – the way it should have been… and I'd watch her walk back towards Lindblum.

"_What you need is a purpose – a solid reason to be strong…_"

This sunset was particularly memorable. The mist was only just thin enough to coat the ocean in a hazy shade of blood-red as the sun was swallowed by the distant horizon. I blinked as I stood on the peaks of the surrounding mountains, watching Jayce's coat billow over her protectively. Heh, even when he's not there, eh?

"_Me? I've got Sarah, who I choose to be strong for…_"

I'd been given a second chance, but for what? My best friend was dead, the woman who held my heart was holding it alone and the only meaning I had to my life was the people I was hired to kill. It wasn't what I wanted - _this_ wasn't what I wanted... and it was at that moment, watching Sarah make her way back to Lindblum after fuck knows how many times that it dawned on me - I shouldn't be alive. It should have been me that took that fall, not Jayce. He was only ever out for others - I was always out for myself. I'd taken his place... and he'd taken mine...

Out of the only two people that meant the world to Sarah - myself and Jayce...

"… _take care of her…"_

... the wrong one died.


End file.
